Gaza finally receives the first convoy loaded with humanitarian aid in the midst of the war

Photo: Iskender Debebe/United Nations

Two weeks after the start of a new conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, which threatens to escalate violence in the turbulent Middle East, the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was opened for the first humanitarian aid convoy to enter Gaza. south of those lands.

About twenty Egyptian Red Crescent trucks carrying food, water, and medicines (the only three supplies that Israel and the United States recognized as included in the agreements they reached last Wednesday with Egypt) crossed the Rafat crossing to respond to the dangerous humanitarian situation the country is witnessing. Born in the sector, highlights a NB Quoted from the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

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A humanitarian convoy of 20 trucks loaded with vital aid crossed from Egypt into Gaza.

He said: “The people of Gaza need more commitment.” @antonioguterresStressing that the United Nations is working non-stop to achieve this. https://t.co/paKhm8M3o8 pic.twitter.com/Pext1x0GA4

– United Nations (@ONU_es) October 21, 2023

Shortly after, EFI confirmed that the crossing, which is the only one not under the control of the Israeli authorities, was closed again on both sides after the convoy passed, despite requests from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who remained open to send more assistance.

The World Health Organization specified in a statement that initial aid to Gaza includes medicines and supplies to treat trauma for 1,200 people, in addition to portable bags to hold up to 235 wounded in place.

It also includes medicines to treat chronic diseases and treatments for 1,500 people, in addition to medicines and basic basic supplies for 300,000 people for three months.

Both the United Nations and Gaza authorities consider this initial delivery insufficient, because it represents only 3% of the aid – about 450 trucks per day – that residents of the Strip were receiving before the fighting began, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. .

International organizations estimate that about 700,000 people moved to the southern Palestinian territories to avoid becoming victims of bombing by Israeli forces and the announced Israeli incursion into the Strip.

Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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No one dares to risk whether there will be new aid flows, or their frequency, because the United States and Israel condition this possibility on the shipments not reaching the hands of Hamas, which manages the passage on the Palestinian side and administers the aid. sector since 2007.

Discrepancies in the mechanism of inspecting goods led to a delay of approximately 72 hours in the delivery of necessary aid to residents living in a critical situation.

“This first convoy must not be the last… I am confident that this shipment is the beginning of a sustained effort to provide essential supplies, including food, water, medicine and fuel, to the people of Gaza.” […]. “The people of Gaza have suffered for decades, and the international community cannot continue to let them down.”

Currently, Israel maintains veto power over the entry of fuel needed to generate electricity and pump water, as well as any supplies across its borders, while Hamas militias are holding at least 210 of its citizens hostage, according to figures updated by the authorities. From the Hebrew nation.

On the other hand, the Palestinian militia confirmed today, Saturday, that it will not negotiate the handover of the Israeli army under its control until the bombings and “attacks” on its territory end.

The Islamic fundamentalist militia confirmed today, Saturday, that it will not address the situation of the kidnapped soldiers belonging to that group unless Israel stops its “aggression” against the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza raised the death toll from these attacks to 4,385 since October 7, and indicated that 1,756 were children.

The same source, quoted by the Spanish newspaper, indicates that the fuel shortage is keeping five hospitals in the region completely out of service. In addition, it maintains two other health centers and 25 partially functioning health centres.