Gaza Strip: In latest development and at least 20 trucks carrying several tonnes of humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza after Egypt opened Rafah border crossing for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7.
The development comes days after US President Joe Biden brokered a deal between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi that allowed humanitarian aid to reach Gaza civilians.
Israel has declared a war against Gaza-based Palestinian militant outfit Hamas in response to the brutal October 7 attack and announced a complete siege of the blockaded territory. As part of the siege order, Israel cut off food, water, fuel and electricity supply to the Gaza Strip.
Israel also asked nearly 1.1 million civilians to flee their homes in the densely-populated Gaza city and move to safer area south of the Wadi Gaza. The mass relocation clubbed with Israeli siege triggered a massive humanitarian crisis, leaving over a million people, including children, women and elderly, displaced across the Gaza Strip.
The entry of aid comes a day after Hamas released two American hostages – a mother and her 17-year-old daughter – in a humanitarian gesture. Hamas kidnapped some 200-250 people, including foreign nationals, after its brutal October 7 attack in Israel.
Meanwhile, some local media reports also suggested that foreign nationals from several countries, including the US and the UK, may also be evacuated to the Egypt. Hundreds of people have been gathering on the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing since the war broke out. They are waiting there in hopes of being evacuated.
Earlier on Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza in northern Sinai in Egypt. Guterres told the reporters that the large convoy loaded with food and medicine was “the difference between life and death for the people.”
“For nearly two weeks, Gaza has gone without any shipments of fuel, food, water and medicine. The UN is focusing all its efforts for a sustained operation to deliver critical humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” a UN spokesperson said in a post on social media.
Agencies

KR Desk