Rafah is the only border crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory not controlled by Israel
Rafah, Egypt:
Aid trucks waiting to cross from Egypt to Gaza are “a lifeline” that must enter the war-torn Palestinian enclave as quickly as possible, the UN chief said on Friday.
“These trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said as he visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with Gaza to conduct surveillance. preparations for emergency services.
Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing humanitarian aid to Rafah for days, but none has yet been delivered to Gaza, which has been under heavy Israeli bombardment for almost two weeks since the deadly Oct. 7 attacks.
On that day, Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, maimed or burned to death on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.
Since then, more than 4,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in brutal Israeli bombardments, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Israel also cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food to the long-blocked area of 2.4 million people after the attacks, causing chronic shortages, but UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on Friday that the first relief would take place via Rafah. the next day or so”.
“To see that the emergency trucks are stuck here, it is very clear to me: what we need is to move them… to the other side of this wall… as quickly as possible and with as many people as possible,” Guterres said. reporters at the intersection.
The UN chief said it must be a “sustained effort” with not just one convoy crossing the border, but many “must be allowed in meaningful numbers to have enough trucks to provide support to the people of Gaza”.
The United Nations, he said, was “actively engaging with all parties,” including Egypt, Israel and the United States, to get the trucks moving as quickly as possible.
Rafah is the only border crossing into the blockaded Palestinian territory not controlled by Israel, which has agreed to allow aid at the request of its ally Washington.
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