RAFAH – The entry of humanitarian and relief aid trucks into the Gaza Strip resumed on Sunday after a two-day halt due to the weekly Friday and Saturday holidays.
The trucks are being inspected by Israeli occupation forces before entering the Palestinian side of the Strip.
A source at the Rafah border terminal in North Sinai said the 21st aid convoy, operated by the Egyptian Red Crescent, began moving earlier in the day from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing towards Karem Abu Salem crossing on its way to the Gaza Strip.
The source said the convoy is carrying large quantities of essential aid needed by the population in Gaza, including food supplies, flour, medical and humanitarian materials, and other necessities to alleviate the suffering of the people.
Israeli occupation forces had closed the crossings linking the Gaza Strip since March 2 following the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the failure to reach an agreement to solidify the ceasefire.
They breached the truce with intense airstrikes on March 18 and pushed deep into various areas of the Gaza Strip from which they had previously withdrawn.
The occupation authorities also prevented the entry of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced persons who lost their homes due to the war on Gaza, and refused to allow the entry of the heavy equipment necessary for clearing rubble and reconstruction into the Gaza Strip.
The entry of aid into Gaza resumed in May according to a mechanism implemented by the occupation authorities and an American security company, despite the rejection by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for violating the established international mechanism in this regard.
The occupation army announced a “temporary truce” for 10 hours on Sunday, July 27, and suspended military operations in areas of the Gaza Strip to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, mediators (Egypt, Qatar, and the United States) are making efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a prisoner and detainee exchange deal.
