1 of 2 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid at the GazaEgypt border, in a picture from October 20th Photo: Reproduction / JN Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid at the GazaEgypt border, in a picture from October 20th Photo: Reproduction / JN
Eight trucks carrying food, medicine and water are expected to enter the Gaza Strip this Friday (27), a United Nations official told international news agencies.
The convoy will join the 12 trucks carrying water, food, medicine and supplies that crossed the Rafah border crossing towards the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning (26), according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
“We are expecting about eight more trucks today,” Lynn Hastings, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva.
According to the organization, around 74 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7th.
However, the delivery of fuel remains banned by the Israeli authorities.
According to the United Nations, at least 100 trucks would need to enter the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million people, every day to supply the population with food, water and fuel.
In the same region where the trucks are entering, people are waiting for the border to open to a humanitarian corridor, including Brazilians staying in southern Gaza Strip towns near Rafah.
What is the Rafah Pass?
2 of 2 Humanitarian Aid — Photo: g1 Humanitarian Aid — Photo: g1
The checkpoints, known as the Rafah border crossing, are the only place where crossing from Egypt to the Gaza Strip or vice versa is possible. They are located along the almost 13 kilometer long fence that separates the Palestinian territory from the Sinai Peninsula.
The crossing is the only one not controlled by Israel, but both the Israelis and Egyptians already had strong control of the site before the war. The territory was subjected to air, land and sea control for nearly 17 years, leaving the Gaza Strip virtually isolated from the rest of the world.
The total blockade in response to the Hamas attack made the situation worse. More than a million Palestinians have left their homes in northern Palestinian territory due to Israeli evacuation orders.
Rafah, a city on the southern border, has become the only hope for those trying to leave Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of foreigners, including Brazilians, are waiting there for rescue.
Early in the conflict, Israel bombed the checkpoints, making movement through Rafah difficult. Now the Egyptian government is carrying out road work to ensure the passage of trucks carrying aid supplies.
Road repair machines were sent across the Rafah border to prepare for the crossing.