The Israeli military on Thursday announced what it called “new and improved measures” to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including the construction of a new land crossing in northern Gaza.

The new crossing will “allow more aid to flow directly to civilians in areas that are difficult for trucks to access,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a video statement.

International humanitarian groups have complained for months about barriers to trucking aid into Gaza, citing delays by Israeli forces and the inability to safely access areas such as northern Gaza due to the devastation of the war.

Hagari said Israel expects 50 trucks to pass through the new crossing every day, and the total number of trucks arriving in the Gaza Strip every day will gradually increase from 350 to about 500.

The United Nations says before the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, about 500 trucks were delivering aid to Gaza every day.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant on Wednesday that the United States hopes Israel will quickly fulfill its commitments to provide more humanitarian aid and coordinate with aid groups to ensure that deadly incidents are not Do it again. Israel attacks World Central Kitchen convoy.

The State Department said Blinken and Galante also discussed ongoing ceasefire negotiations that include the release of hostages held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

Israel said on Wednesday that three sons of Hamas top leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an airstrike in Gaza, adding that all siblings belonged to the militant group’s armed wing.

Hazem, Amir and Mohammad Haniyeh were driving with their children near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City when four of Haniyeh’s grandchildren were also killed in the attack. Ismail Haniyeh is from Shati.

Haniyeh, who lives in exile in Qatar, heard the news while visiting injured Palestinians taken to a hospital in Doha. He confirmed the deaths in an interview with the Al Jazeera satellite channel, saying his sons “were martyred on the road to liberating Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

“Criminal enemies are driven by a spirit of revenge and murder and have no respect for any standards or laws,” Haniya said.

His sons are among the most high-profile figures killed so far in the six-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Israeli military described the three brothers as a team commander and two military operatives.

Al-Aqsa TV said the brothers were traveling in a car with their family when they were attacked by an Israeli drone.

“All the people of Gaza have paid a high price,” the Hamas leader said. “I’m one of them.”

It was unclear how the deaths of Haniyeh’s son and grandson might affect months-long ceasefire talks brokered by international mediators, but Haniyeh said Hamas would not bow to pressure.

“The enemy believes that by targeting leaders’ families, they will force them to abandon the demands of our people,” he said. “Anyone who thinks that targeting my son will force Hamas to change its position is delusional.”

On October 7, Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. After that, Israel declared war on Hamas. Israel’s subsequent counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 33,000 people, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.

Information for this report was provided in part by Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP.