The UN humanitarian agency confirmed this Saturday (21) that 20 trucks with food, water and medicine entered the Gaza Strip, through the Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt.
The deputy director of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories, Andrea de Domenico, told EFE Agency that the Egyptian Red Cross is leading the operation to bring aid to the Palestinian enclave.
He highlighted that this support will not be enough for everyone in Gaza. However, De Domenico says negotiations are taking place between the parties involved in the conflict to make aid delivery “sustainable and uninterrupted”.
The Rafah crossing, in southern Gaza and on the border with Egypt, is the only exit outside the Gaza Strip other than Israel. The border has been closed since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of war against the terrorist group Hamas.
In parallel with aid access inside Gaza, between 300 and 400 people with foreign passports, mostly US citizens, are awaiting clearance to leave the region.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement that the aid arriving today (21) in Gaza includes trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people, as well as portable bags to stabilize up to 235 injured people there.
There are also medicines for chronic diseases and treatment for 1,500 people, in addition to basic essential medicines.
The WHO said it is working with the Egyptian Crescent and the Palestinian Territory to ensure that these supplies, which it considers “critical”, reach Gaza’s hospitals and health centers safely.
Another plane with WHO supplies is expected to arrive in Gaza from Egypt this Saturday, with medicines, surgical instruments, disinfectants, blood transfusion equipment, antibiotics, water tanks and tents.
Passage closed again
The authorities that manage the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt to the Gaza Strip, closed it again this Saturday (21), on both sides, after the 20 trucks that brought humanitarian aid to the enclave completed transport.
There are still no details on when it will reopen, they told EFE Agency the president of the North Sinai Red Crescent, Khaled Said.
He emphasized that the supplies delivered to the Palestinian side of Rafah were “only medical aid”, that none of the shipments included fuel and that it was unknown when a new aid delivery would be made and how many trucks would be able to enter.
He briefly stated that “there is no information about the departure of foreign citizens from Gaza” and that “nothing is known yet” about when and how this might occur. (With EFE agency)
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