DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
A small convoy enters the Gaza Strip from Egypt, carrying desperately needed medicine and food supplies.
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened to allow a small amount of crucial aid to reach the Palestinians who are facing severe shortages of food, medicine, and water due to the Israeli siege on the territory.
According to a statement from the Palestinian group Hamas, a convoy consisting of 20 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Saturday, carrying medicine and food supplies.
More than 200 trucks loaded with approximately 3,000 tonnes of aid were positioned near the crossing for several days before being allowed into Gaza.
Hamas’s media office previously stated: “The relief aid convoy that is supposed to enter today includes 20 trucks that carry medicine, medical supplies, and a limited amount of food supplies [canned goods].”
The delivery was welcomed by Martin Griffiths, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, who stated that it was the result of “days of deep and intense negotiations with all relevant sides to make sure that aid operation into Gaza resumes as quickly as possible and with the right conditions.” He added, “I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies – including food, water, medicine, and fuel – to the people of Gaza, in a safe, dependable, unconditional, and unimpeded manner.”
