Cairo:
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid for war-torn and besieged Gaza entered the Rafah crossing from Egypt on Saturday, a security source and an Egyptian Red Crescent official told AFP.
Egyptian state television showed several trucks entering the gate on the 15th day of the war between Israel and Hamas, the militant movement that rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people.
Israel has been bombing Gaza since Hamas’ bloody surprise attack on October 7.
The Islamist group stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who Israeli officials said were shot, mutilated or burned to death on the first day of the raid, also taking more than 200 people hostage.
Israel has completely besieged Gaza and cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food, causing chronic shortages.
Rafah is the only route to Gaza not controlled by Israel, which agreed to allow aid from Egypt at the request of its main ally, the United States.
Twenty trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from several UN agencies, entered the Egyptian terminal, an AFP correspondent said.
An AFP journalist on the Palestinian side of the border crossing saw 36 empty trailers enter the terminal and head towards the Egyptian side, where they would be loaded with the incoming aid.
Four ambulances, two UN vehicles and two Red Cross vehicles were also seen entering the terminal.
Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing humanitarian aid to the Egyptian side of Rafah for days, but so far none has been delivered to Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Egyptian side of the border crossing on Friday to oversee aid preparations.
“These trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline,” he said. “They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)