Egypt announces it will send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip
Egypt approved the delivery of aid and medicine to the people of the Gaza Strip, but under United Nations supervision. The aim is to prevent aid supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists.
Volunteers camping in tents on the Egyptian side of the border are ready to enter Gaza. Volunteer Halima Slatin says she has waited a week to bring medicine and food to Palestinians.
The line of trucks carrying humanitarian aid is long. They transport donations from countries and international organizations that arrive daily at El Arish Airport in the Sinai Peninsula, and all cargo remains on Egyptian territory.
The Rafah border crossing, the only border crossing gate between Egypt and Gaza, is closed. Hundreds of foreigners are also waiting there on the Palestinian side, hoping to leave the area. But the agreement does not provide for their withdrawal. Initially only 20 trucks are allowed to travel to Gaza. The director of the emergency program at World Health OrganizationMichael Ryan, said it wasn’t enough.
“It shouldn’t be 20. There were supposed to be two thousand trucks. Humanitarian aid and support must move forward every day. Two and a half million people need help. “Twenty trucks are a drop in the ocean,” he says.
1 of 2 The Rafah border crossing, the only border crossing gate between Egypt and Gaza, is closed Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction The Rafah border crossing, the only border crossing gate between Egypt and Gaza, is closed Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction
After Salwa is forced to leave the house, they are housed in a tent, saying that the children are sick; There is a lack of water and food.
Egyptian President Abdul Fatah AlSisi authorized the importation of those 20 trucks under UN supervision, and Israel said it would not hinder aid as long as the supplies did not reach Hamas. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, who announced the agreement to open the border for border crossing humanitarian aid, said he was committed to completing negotiations. Joe Biden was categorical:
“If Hamas seizes the shipment, the shipment will be suspended.”
2 of 2 The UN will monitor the import of aid and medicine into the Gaza Strip, says Egypt Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction The UN will monitor the import of aid and medicine into the Gaza Strip, says Egypt Photo: Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction
The president also said that the goal is to bring more trucks to the market soon. Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, said this Thursday (19) that the American government will closely monitor how aid is delivered.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, who participated in the drafting of the proposal, traveled to New York this Thursday (19). A stopover before continuing on to Cairo, where he will take part in a summit organized by Egypt to discuss the war.
UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres appealed:
“Civilians in Gaza urgently need services and supplies, and to do this we need rapid and unhindered humanitarian access.”