Israel’s military said it will restart the flow of tents and other shelter equipment into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, ending a five-month ban on such items. The supplies, to be moved through the Kerem Shalom crossing after security inspection, will be handled by the United Nations and other aid groups, according to COGAT, the army unit that manages civilian affairs in the occupied territories. The transfer is billed as the first step in relocating Palestinians away from active combat zones to what Israel calls "safe areas" in southern Gaza. The measure comes eight days after the government approved a new ground campaign to seize Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, and amid intensifying Israeli raids in the Zeitoun and Shejaiya neighbourhoods on the city’s outskirts. Defence Minister Israel Katz said operational details of the planned offensive are still being finalised. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that civilians will be evacuated before a full assault begins, yet the United Nations and Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that no location in the enclave can be considered safe. Humanitarian agencies say conditions are already dire. The UN estimates about 1.9 million people—roughly 90 % of Gaza’s population—have been displaced since the war erupted in October 2023, and the Hamas-run health ministry puts the Palestinian death toll at more than 61 000. Aid groups caution that further large-scale population movements could deepen shortages of food, water and medical care. Inside Israel, families of the roughly 50 hostages still held in Gaza have called for a nationwide protest on Sunday, pressing the government to secure a cease-fire and the captives’ release before any broadened military action. Talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar on a 60-day truce remain stalled.