JERUSALEM, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) — During a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, stressing that it is a matter of life or death for millions of its residents.
Standing at the Rafah border crossing, where some 175 trucks carrying humanitarian aid, medical supplies, food and blankets were lined up to enter the Gaza Strip but were blocked by Israel, the UN chief said humanitarian aid for many ” the difference between life and death” is Gazan.
“We urgently need these trucks as quickly as possible and as many as necessary every day to adequately support the people of Gaza,” Guterres said.
Spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jens Laerke, said today that interested parties are close to agreement on the modalities of the relief operation and that the first delivery will begin in the coming days, a UN official said. Press release.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, firing thousands of rockets and infiltrating Israeli territory, to which Israel responded with massive airstrikes and punitive measures, including a siege of the enclave by cutting off water supplies. Electricity, fuel and other needs.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, now in its 14th day, has left more than 5,000 people dead on both sides and plunged many others into a serious humanitarian crisis.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday morning that it had struck more than 100 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, including an underground tunnel, a weapons depot and dozens of command centers.
On another front, the confrontation between the Israeli army and Hezbollah continues. Frequent exchanges of rockets and missiles prompted Israel on Friday to evacuate Kiryat Shmona, a town in northern Israel on the border with Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a Yemeni government official told Xinhua on Friday that the Houthi rebel group fired several rockets and explosive-laden drones from Yemen’s northwestern Hajjah province toward the Red Sea on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen.
Yemeni military officials suggested the Houthi group could fire missiles and drones into the Red Sea to open a new front against U.S. allies in the region.
Earlier, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi threatened in a televised address to bomb Israel if the United States intervened directly in Israel’s ongoing conflict with Gaza.
In response to the missile attack, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Friday: “Israel is ready to meet threats like these with some of the best air defense assets in the world.”