[1/3]Egyptian volunteers gather next to a truck carrying humanitarian aid passing through the Rafah border crossing from the Egyptian side, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, October 22, 2023. Portal/Stringer ACQUIRE LICENSE
CAIRO, Oct 22 (Portal) – A second convoy of aid trucks entered the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing towards the Gaza Strip on Sunday, according to Egyptian security and humanitarian sources.
Shortly after the convoy reached the border crossing, witnesses said an explosion was heard near the border crossing and ambulances were heard being deployed from the Egyptian side, although the extent of the casualties was not immediately clear.
The Israeli military said one of its tanks accidentally fired and hit an Egyptian position near the border and expressed sadness over the incident.
The sources said a total of about 19 trucks in the convoy carrying medical supplies and food were inspected by UNRWA, the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, on Sunday.
A first convoy of 20 trucks carrying urgently needed aid entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday via Rafah, which had previously been out of service due to bombings on the Gaza side of the border and disputes over conditions for the delivery of aid.
Distribution of those supplies began on Sunday, but aid workers are still warning of a humanitarian disaster as supplies of food, water and fuel run out.
In response to a deadly Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7, Israel imposed a total blockade and launched airstrikes on Gaza.
The Rafah border crossing, the main entry and exit point into Gaza that does not lead to Israel, has become the focus of an aid operation as humanitarian conditions in Gaza worsen.
UN officials say at least 100 trucks per day are needed in Gaza to meet urgent needs. Before the recent conflict broke out, several hundred trucks arrived in the enclave every day.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told Portal on Saturday that work was underway to develop a “lightweight” inspection system that would allow Israel to control supplies but ensure a sustained flow.
Reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Nidal al-Mughrabi; writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Aidan Lewis; Edited by John Stonestreet and David Holmes
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