Relief in Gaza as aid deliveries ease severe shortages

Israel has lifted a blockade on the entry of humanitarian supplies as part of ceasefire deal

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Between 300 and 350 lorries carrying humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza every day since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect on January 19, Egyptian authorities say, providing much needed relief for the devastated enclave.

Under the agreement to pause the fighting, Israel has lifted a blockade on the entry of aid into Gaza. Thousands of lorries have reached Egypt's border with Gaza, to deliver supplies to the Palestinian territory, where many Gazans have been displaced multiple times and face starvation and disease.

The National saw lorries lined up in their hundreds this week at the Al Awga and Karam Abu Salem border crossings, waiting to pass through multiple levels of heavy security.

The Rafah border crossing is usually used but was damaged in multiple rounds of shelling by the Israeli army early on in the war. It is currently under repair and is expected to open soon under a renewed EU Border Assistance Mission, which has agreed to redeploy its monitoring team at the crossing as part of efforts to bolster the ceasefire.

The mission, consisting of 10 European personnel and eight local staff, will co-ordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 wounded and sick Palestinians who are expected to enter Egypt for treatment once the Rafah crossing is reopened.

Teams of medical personnel from the Egyptian Red Crescent are waiting outside the crossing to receive the wounded Palestinians, many of whom are suffering from serious injuries left untreated after Israel destroyed much of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.

Hundreds of trucks are lined up waiting to cross the border. Reuters

The European mission said on Monday that it expects the Rafah border crossing to reopen in “days”.

The lorry drivers, many of whom have to endure long waits before they can deliver their loads into Gaza, must contend with rigorous Israeli checks at the border.

Their bodies and vehicles are searched and X-rayed, said Mohamed Goda, a driver who was queuing up to enter on Wednesday.

“They take the drivers to a room where we can’t see the inspection process, then they inspect the cargo and return it. Sometimes they put it back complete and other times they take things from it,” he told The National.

The ceasefire deal struck between Israel and Hamas has halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza that claimed the lives of nearly 50,000 Palestinians and laid waste to large areas of the territory.

The war began with an attack in October 2023 on southern Israel by Hamas militants and other Palestinian factions that killed 1,200 people.