The first aid deliveries arrive
Egypt opens border to Gaza
October 21, 2023, 10:24 a.m
Since the beginning of the Israel war there has been a build-up of traffic on the Egyptian border. Around 170 trucks are now waiting there, full of humanitarian aid supplies for the Gaza Strip. Now the first can happen. However, it is uncertain how long the border will remain open.
The first aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip have started. Several trucks have driven from Egypt into the Palestinian area of the Rafah border crossing, as shown in images on Egyptian television. According to the Egyptian Red Crescent, 20 trucks will initially bring goods and medicines to the Gaza Strip. These are the first deliveries via Rafah since the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, began two weeks ago.
How long the border should remain open for aid deliveries is still unclear. Recently, around 170 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were piled up on the Egyptian side in front of the crossing. The trucks are ready and on “stand-by,” said a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cairo.
On Saturday night, two trucks were expected to cross the border, security sources said. The trucks were carrying medicine and, according to media reports, also shrouds. A team of medical professionals was also supposed to enter the Gaza Strip with the trucks. The preparations for the entrance were then stopped because of new air strikes by Israel early in the morning, security circles said.
Rafah is seen as the only way to bring urgently needed aid to the Gaza Strip. Israel had agreed to open the border crossing for the delivery of water, food and medicine. The trucks and ambulances drove to the border with a large contingent of security forces. On some it is written: “For our people in Palestine.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the border crossing on the Egyptian side on Friday and called for the trucks to leave quickly. Two million people in the Gaza Strip are “suffering enormously” because they lack water, food and medicine, among other things. “These trucks make the difference between life and death for so many people in the Gaza Strip.” After the start of the most recent conflict, Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, effectively sealing off the coastal enclave.