By Emma Bubola and Matina Stevis Gridneff

NEW YORK – A United Nations-brokered deal was struck Thursday (19) that was expected to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt, two officials said, although the details of how and when the desperately needed food and medicine would be delivered were not immediately known.

Palestinians in Gaza, already living under a blockade by Israel and Egypt, have been increasingly desperate since Israel responded to Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terrorist attack with airstrikes and a “complete siege” of the enclave. Nearly half the population has been displaced, according to the United Nations, and dwindling essential resources threaten disaster for its more than 2 million residents.

The deal includes the UN flag being raised at the Rafah crossing and international observers inspecting aid trucks before they enter Gaza, to satisfy a demand by Israel, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the news.

Adding to pressure on Israel to ease the crisis in Gaza, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain visited Tel Aviv, Israel, and said, after meeting with President Isaac Herzog that they had “agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering.”

Previous reports of imminent agreements to ease the backup at Gaza’s border with Egypt — both for people and aid — have failed to materialize. Egypt said it would allow 20 aid trucks into the enclave, according to Biden, but the timing is unclear. Hopes are high that the aid trucks would be able to cross into Gaza on Friday (20), according to European Union officials. As diplomats continued to hammer out logistics, roads were being repaired Thursday so large trucks loaded with aid would be able to pass through the crossing, according to a person briefed on the situation.

Here’s what else you need to know:

— Israel’s northern border with Lebanon remained tense as Hezbollah and the Israeli military continued clashes there. With Israel threatening a ground invasion of Gaza, many in the region fear that the fighting with Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, could escalate into a war involving Lebanon, too.

— Israel’s military said it had been in contact with the families of 203 people taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, raising by four the number of people believed to be held in Gaza. The military also said it had caught a fighter from Hamas trying to return to Gaza, leaving open the possibility that others were still in Israel. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesperson, said soldiers would “continue combing the area” for other members of the group.

— Biden is scheduled to give a prime time address from the Oval Office on Thursday about the war and is expected to request $100 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other crises from Congress by the end of the week. The decision to link aid for Ukraine to aid for Israel reflects the urgency of both wars — and a calculation about Republican support.

— Seven Palestinians were killed in the West Bank over the past day, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, including one who was shot dead by settlers during an attack on a Palestinian village. The remaining six were killed by Israeli forces during overnight raids, the ministry said.

— Satellite imagery shows hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles have gathered about 4 miles north of the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza, in preparation for a potential ground invasion. The crossing has been closed since Hamas fighters seized it Oct. 7.

— Gaza health officials said at a news conference that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the enclave since Oct. 7. The figures are believed to include casualties from the hospital explosion in Gaza City. Hamas and Israel blame each other for that blast, which saw sporadic protests in Europe and in some Arab nations for a second night.

-New York Times