CARACAS, Venezuela — After denying for years that Venezuelans were suffering a humanitarian crisis, the government allowed the Red Cross to send in 24 tons of medical equipment on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a large-scale relief campaign intended to ease malnutrition and the spread of disease in the crisis-stricken country.

An airplane landed in Caracas’s international airport transporting the first in a series of planned shipments of medical supplies and power generators for hospitals that are intended to eventually help 650,000 Venezuelans, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The material is expected to be distributed in the coming days.

Despite the enormity of the population’s need, the delivery of humanitarian aid has become a political battle between the president, Nicolás Maduro, and Venezuela’s opposition.

On Tuesday, the president of the Red Cross in Venezuela said the aid should not become embroiled in a political dispute, and asked for the cooperation of politicians.