Egyptian relief trucks enter Gaza via Karm Abu Salem crossing

CAIRO – 26 May 2024: Egyptian humanitarian aid trucks have commenced their entry into Gaza through Israel's Karm Abu Salem crossing, while the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza remains closed.

Al Qahera News released a video showing the trucks entering the crossing, loaded with essential humanitarian aid to alleviate the ongoing crisis in the Strip.

A reliable source confirmed that Egyptian relief convoys have begun flowing into Gaza, in coordination with the United Nations, to provide a substantial amount of humanitarian aid and relief materials to the people in need.

Earlier today, the channel reported that about 200 humanitarian aid trucks, including four fuel trucks, were redirected from the Rafah border crossing to the Karm Abu Salem crossing.

Each truck carries around 15-20 tons of aid, including food and medication, with around 85 percent of the aid originating from Egypt.

This development comes as Israeli forces continue their ground operations in Rafah city, including the takeover of the Gazan side of the Rafah border crossing since May 7, resulting in the closure of the crucial aid entry point.

Egypt has declined coordination with Israel concerning aid delivery through the Rafah crossing due to Israel's "unacceptable escalation," as stated by a senior official on May 11.

The redirection of aid comes just two days after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and fuel through the Karm Abu Salem border crossing.

They have further agreed that the aid will be temporarily delivered to the UN at the crossing until a legal mechanism is established for reopening the Rafah border crossing.

Since May 7, only 906 trucks, averaging around 50 trucks per day, have entered Gaza, according to media reports, before today’s aid delivery.

This represents only a fraction of the essential food supplies and humanitarian aid required to meet the needs of the people in the strip.

Karm Abu Salem crossing opened for aid trucks in mid-December for the first time since the start of the Gaza war on October 7, following mounting pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah and open the Rafah crossing to facilitate aid delivery.

Relief aid is urgently needed as the war in Gaza has led to one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, with a significant number of the population displaced, infrastructure damaged, and the strip on the brink of famine.

Over more than seven months, the Israeli war has claimed the lives of nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injured more than 80,000 others.