Israel approved the temporary reopening of its Kerem Shalom border with southern Gaza on Friday, allowing a select amount of humanitarian assistance into the war-torn region.

The opening of the crossing will hike the number of aid trucks coming into Gaza to over 300 daily, up from the 100 daily that have exclusively come through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza thus far.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier on Friday that opening Kerem Shalom, known by Gazans as Kerem Abu Salem, will offload congestion and help the security screening process.

"The cabinet approved today a temporary measure of unloading the trucks on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing instead of having them return to Rafah," the office said, noting that only aid arriving from Egypt will be allowed in.

It was not immediately clear when the crossing will open or how long it will be open.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, applauded Israel for its decision hours after returning to the U.S. from the Israel, where he spent two days on a diplomatic trip.

"We welcome this significant step. President Biden raised this issue in recent phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and it was an important topic of discussion during my visit to Israel over the past two days," Sullivan said.

"We will continue to work closely with Egypt and other partners on the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance through the Rafah crossing," he added.

The move comes amid international calls for Israel to try to mitigate as many civilian deaths as possible in Gaza.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, over 18,000 Gazans have died thus far in the invasion of the strip — Israel's response to the terrorist group Hamas' Oct. 7 border incursion that killed hundreds of civilians.

Statistics from the health ministry, which Hamas controls, cannot be independently verified.

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