In total, 137 trucks have been unloaded at the reception point of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) on the first day of the humanitarian truce, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced this Friday.
(You can read: The US celebrates a truce between Israel and Hamas and asks for permanent mechanisms for aid)
On the first day of the truce, within the framework of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which has allowed an exchange of hostages, they have arrived 200 trucks with humanitarian aid from the town of Nitzana to the Rafah border crossing, on the border with EgyptOCHA reported in a statement.
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“137 trucks of goods were unloaded by the UNRWA reception point in Gaza”, as well as 129,000 liters of fuel and four trucks of gas, which has allowed “hundreds of thousands of people” to receive “food, water, medical supplies and other essential humanitarian items,” the organization notes.
In addition, 21 critical patients evacuated in large-scale medical operation from northern Gaza.
(Keep reading: Israel releases the first 39 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement with Hamas)
This is the largest humanitarian convoy received since October 7, the day of the Hamas attack in Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and led to the total closure of the Strip and the Israeli ground offensive that has left more than 14,000 dead. according to Hamas, which governs the territory.
The agreement sealed on Wednesday with the help of Qatar established a four-day truce that could be extended and the exchange of 50 hostages held captive in Gaza for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
A total of 24 hostages, 13 of them Israeli, ten Thai and one Filipino, were handed over on Friday by Hamas to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, while Israel freed 39 women and children from its prisons, reported the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(Also read: Hamas releases first hostages after truce with Israel: Israelis, Thais and Filipinos)
“The UN welcomes the release of 24 hostages held in Gaza since October 7 and renews its call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”says the statement.
The UN estimates that there are more than 1.7 million internally displaced people in Gaza. Of them, around a million are staying in at least 156 UNRWA shelters in this small territory.
AFP
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