Convoy of Relief Trucks en Route to Gaza Through Rafah Crossing | News

A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes.

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It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday.

Sunday’s aid consists of food, medical supplies, water, blankets, clothes, shrouds, and other items, said Ra’ed el-Gebaly, a volunteer with the Egyptian Food Bank.

The trucks, which have been prepared by the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, a coalition of Egyptian NGOs, in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent, are set to be delivered to humanitarians of the United Nations, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the Red Cross on the Gaza side.

“The aid supplies are still so much less than what is needed for a couple of million people besieged in Gaza who lacked basic needs under very difficult conditions,” said Abdel-Rahman Habat, basic needs portfolio manager at Cairo-based Life Makers Foundation, a NGO with the National Alliance for Civil Development Work.

“We try to contribute to relieving the suffering of the people of Gaza and we will continue to do so until we cover most of their needs,” he added.

About 200 more vehicles were waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to enter Gaza. Egypt’s El-Arish airport and the Rafah crossing are “the lifelines to the people of Gaza,” United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres said during his visit to Egypt last week.

For two weeks, Gaza has been under deadly Israeli siege and strikes. Over the last 24 hours, Israeli bombings killed 266 people. Hospitals remain without electricity due to lack of fuel.