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22-10-2023
CAIRO/ GAZA CITY: A convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid started passing through the Rafah border crossing Saturday into the war-torn and besieged Gaza, a security source and an Egyptian Red Crescent official told media.
Egyptian television showed several trucks entering the gate on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the group which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people.
“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),” a statement from Hamas’s media office said on Saturday.
Humanitarian aid had been stuck at the Rafah border for days while crisis-struck Palestinians eagerly waited for the aid to pass through the gates of the border which is not controlled by Israel.
Israel pummeled the densely populated region despite Hamas releasing two American prisoners held in Gaza, providing a “sliver of hope” to desperate families.
According to Israeli sources, Hamas fighters killed at least 1,400 people, largely civilians, and took more than 200 people captive when it surged into Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7.
The release of mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan provided a rare “sliver of hope” because the captives’ fate has remained unclear, according to Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Declaring himself “overjoyed” by the release, US President Joe Biden visited Israel a few days ago to show his support for the ally and to push for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and says around 1,500 of the group’s fighters were left dead in clashes before its army regained control of the area under attack on October 7.
Biden said Friday he believes the attack was motivated partly by Saudi Arabia’s plan to recognize Israel.
Israel’s military activities in Gaza have martyred over 4,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and children, and is massing troops on the border for an expected ground invasion of Gaza.
However, this full-blown land offensive carries risks, including hostages from Israel and around the world held by Hamas. (Int’l News Desk)
