A humanitarian aid convoy entered the Gaza Strip through the Israeli Kerem Shalom border crossing this Sunday (17) for the first time since Israel approved entry through that point, an Egyptian Red Crescent agent said.
In total, “79 trucks arrived today,” the agent said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
Israel on Friday approved the “temporary” import of aid into the narrow Palestinian territory through Kerem Shalom. The besieged strip, devastated after two months of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, faces critical humanitarian conditions.
What little aid entered the area came through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, but the UN reiterated that it was “inadequate”.
Agents at the Kerem Shalom crossing, on the GazaIsrael border to the south, have already begun inspecting aid shipments, but the trucks still have to pass through Rafah to enter the Palestinian territory, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007.
COGAT, the Israeli Ministry of Defense body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, stated this Sunday: “As of today [17 de dezembro]UN aid trucks will pass through security checkpoints and be taken directly to Gaza via Kerem Shalom.”
Around 60% of aid to Gaza arrived through this Israeli border crossing before the start of the war, which was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th. According to the latest authorities, 1,140 people died there. At least 129 people remain captive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has vowed to “destroy” Hamas and is constantly bombing Palestinian territory, where around 18,800 people have died. According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, around 70% of these are women and minors.
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