RAFAH – The entry of humanitarian and relief aid trucks into the Gaza Strip resumed on Sunday after a halt on Saturday.
The humanitarian aid trucks began moving towards the side gate of the Rafah border crossing, heading to the Karam Abu Salem crossing in the southeastern part of the Gaza Strip, as well as towards the al Awja land crossing, in preparation for delivering the aid to the Palestinian population in the enclave.
The Egyptian Red Crescent had exceptionally dispatched, on Friday, the 53rd convoy of “Zad Al-Ezz… From Egypt to Gaza,” carrying urgent humanitarian aid trucks towards the Gaza Strip.
This comes as part of its ongoing efforts as the national mechanism coordinating aid to Gaza.
Israeli occupation forces had closed the crossings connecting to the Gaza Strip on March 2, following the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the failure to reach a deal to consolidate the truce. The ceasefire was violated by heavy aerial bombardment on March 18, followed by renewed ground incursions into several areas of the Gaza Strip from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn.
In May, the occupation authorities allowed in limited quantities of aid that fell short of meeting the minimum needs of the Gaza Strip’s residents. This was done through a mechanism implemented in coordination with an American security company, an approach that was rejected by the United Nations, various relief organizations and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for violating established international mechanisms in such contexts.
These mediation efforts eventually led, in the early hours of October 9, to an agreement between Hamas and Israel on the first phase of a ceasefire deal, in accordance with a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump during a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, brokered by Egypt, the United States and Qatar, with additional support from Turkey.
