Two weeks after Hamas’ attack on Israel, the Rafah border crossing has been reopened. In the morning several trucks crossed the border. It is unclear how long the crossing will remain open.
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip has been opened for aid deliveries. Several trucks were seen on Egyptian television crossing the border.
These are the first deliveries via Rafah since the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, began two weeks ago. How long the border should remain open for aid deliveries is unclear. Recently, around 170 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were piled up on the Egyptian side in front of the crossing.
Days of struggle to open the border crossing
There had been a struggle for days to open the border crossing. Israel demanded guarantees that aid delivered through the checkpoint would not fall into the hands of the radical Islamic group Hamas.
Chancellor Scholz welcomes Aid deliveries
Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the start of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. “It is good and important that the first humanitarian aid is now coming to the people in Gaza. They need water, food and medicine – we will not leave them alone,” wrote Scholz on Platform X. The federal government continues to do this through all channels to alleviate the suffering in this conflict, wrote the SPD politician.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly welcomed the first aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. At the same time, he warned that the opening of the Egyptian Rafah border crossing should not be a one-off event.
“The aid is a lifeline for those suffering. But it must not be a one-off thing. The United Kingdom continues to advocate for humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip,” Cleverly said on the short message service X.