For the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, every hour counts in the war between Israel and Hamas. People urgently need medicine, water and food. Now some trucks are rolling in with relief supplies.
The first aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip have started. Some trucks drove from Egypt into the Palestinian area of the Rafah crossing on Saturday, as seen in images on Egyptian television. Accordingly, goods from 20 trucks with medicines are to be delivered to the Gaza Strip. These are the first deliveries via Rafah since the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, began two weeks ago. How long the border should remain open for aid deliveries initially remained unclear.
Recently, around 170 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were piled up on the Egyptian side in front of the crossing. The trucks are ready and on “stand-by,” said a spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cairo on Saturday.
First entrance initially stopped
Two trucks were supposed to cross the border on Saturday night, as the German Press Agency learned from security circles. The trucks were loaded with medicine and, according to media reports, also shrouds. A team of medical professionals was also supposed to enter the Gaza Strip with the trucks. The preparations for the entrance were then stopped because of new air strikes by Israel early in the morning, security circles said.
Rafah is seen as the only way to bring urgently needed aid to the Gaza Strip. Israel had agreed to open the border crossing for the delivery of water, food and medicine. The trucks and ambulances drove to the border with a large contingent of security forces. On some it is written: “For our people in Palestine.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the border crossing on the Egyptian side on Friday and called for the trucks to leave quickly. Two million people in the Gaza Strip are “suffering enormously” because they lack water, food and medicine, among other things. “These trucks make the difference between life and death for so many people in the Gaza Strip.” After the start of the most recent conflict, Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip, effectively sealing off the coastal enclave.
Source: Stern
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