First aid deliveries enter Gaza since end of Israel-Hamas truce

Israel had blocked entry of aid on Friday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said

Lorries carrying humanitarian aid at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, on Friday. AFP

The first aid deliveries to Gaza since the collapse of a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas have been received by the Palestinian Red Crescent inside the enclave, the organisation said.

The shipment comprised 50 lorries carrying relief supplies and two carrying fuel, an Egyptian Red Crescent officer at the Rafah border crossing told The National.

"The Palestine Red Crescent teams received 50 aid trucks through the Rafah crossing today. The trucks contain food, water, relief assistance, medical supplies and medicines," the Red Crescent Said.

No aid deliveries were allowed into the enclave on Friday, causing the Red Crescent and the UN refugee agency UNRWA to express concerns that essential aid would be withheld from the enclave’s battered populace.

"We are beyond 'concerned' that NO humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza today including fuel," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported on Friday night that the Israeli military had given instructions to humanitarian organisations operating at the Egypt-Gaza border to halt all aid deliveries until further notice.

They were also instructed to hastily empty all aid lorries that hadn’t been unloaded and send them back across the border, the Red Crescent said.

“Israeli occupation forces informed all organisations and entities operating at the Rafah border crossing that the entry of aid trucks from the Egyptian side to the Gaza Strip is prohibited, starting from today until further notice,” the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The Rafah crossing also remained open for foreign nationals’ evacuations, the government media office in Gaza said earlier on Saturday.

“The Rafah crossing is working normally on Saturday,” it said.

The Gaza border authority, which has been publishing daily lists of foreign nationals approved to leave the enclave, published a new list of evacuees on Friday night, confirming that the Rafah border crossing would be open.

Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza on Friday morning, causing at least 190 new civilian deaths and about 589 injuries, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

A humanitarian pause began in Gaza on November 24 as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US.

The two sides agreed to temporarily halt fighting to allow a hostage swap and increased aid deliveries.

More than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

About 1,200 Israelis were also killed during Hamas’ surprise attack into Israeli territories on October 7, according to official estimates.