Trucks carrying urgently needed help for the people of the Gaza Strip have been waiting at the Rafah border crossing for days. Politically, the path already seemed clear and now the road damage has apparently been repaired. The first trucks could happen soon.
Almost two weeks after the terrorist attack on Israel by the radical Islamic Hamas, the more than two million people in the sealed-off Gaza Strip are still waiting for urgently needed humanitarian aid. Everything is missing: clean water, food, medicine, shelter.
The World Health Organization (WHO) speaks of “catastrophic conditions”. But it’s not just aid organizations that are sounding the alarm; political pressure has also recently increased to open the Rafah border crossing in particular. It is the only crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. Trucks with tons of relief goods have been waiting to pass through here for days.
After Israel finally agreed to open the door to humanitarian goods under conditions, the way actually seemed clear. But the roads were damaged as a result of Israeli air strikes. Now they should be repaired and the roads should be passable. The opening of the border crossing for the first trucks is now apparently imminent.
Opening on Friday?
Friday’s planned opening of Rafah, the only non-Israeli-controlled entrance to the Gaza Strip, was reported by Egyptian state-affiliated TV channel Al Kahera News. “We hope that there will be a crossing tomorrow,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. At the same time, he warned: “But based on the experiences of the last few days, we are also worried about whether it will happen.”
The aid in the trucks comes from Egypt or was flown from other countries to the nearby airport in al-Arish, the capital of Egypt’s North Sinai province. Meanwhile, on the other side of the border, dozens of Palestinians are waiting, hoping to get to Egypt, including many dual nationals. Egypt fears an uncontrollable influx of refugees and has refused to accept Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
No aid for Hamas
The opening of Rafah was agreed upon by US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to the US President, 20 trucks will initially be allowed to drive into the Gaza Strip. “We want to send as many trucks over as possible,” Biden said on the flight back from his visit to Israel. At the same time, he warned: “If Hamas confiscates the supplies or doesn’t let them through, then it will end.” Israel also made it a condition that the aid did not reach Hamas.
However, no aid deliveries for the population in the Gaza Strip should begin from Israeli territory until Hamas, which rules there, has released all of its approximately 200 hostages kidnapped from Israel, the Israeli government said.
UN controls
Apparently United Nations observers are supposed to inspect the trucks at the Rafah border crossing. These controls are part of an agreement between Israel and Egypt brokered by the UN, reports the AP news agency, citing informed circles. A UN flag should be flown at the border crossing to prevent attacks. In addition to the UN, the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent societies should also monitor deliveries to ensure that the aid benefits civilians and does not fall into the hands of extremists.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continued its air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The bombings and closure of the Gaza Strip are Israel’s response to the major Hamas attack on October 7th, in which around 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 others were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip, including several Germans. According to local Hamas authorities, more than 3,785 people have now been killed in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time as the bombing and closure of the Palestinian territory, Israel also stopped the delivery of fuel, food and water. Aid organizations warn of a humanitarian catastrophe. Egypt and Jordan called for an “immediate” end to the closure of the Gaza Strip and spoke of “collective punishment” of the Palestinians living there.
Germany is increasing aid
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as “catastrophic”. She announced that Germany would increase its support for the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip with emergency humanitarian aid worth 50 million euros.
The money will be used to support international organizations such as the World Food Program, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and, above all, the United Nations Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA), she said in Amman. It’s about help for “the Palestinians who were also victims of this terrorist attack by Hamas,” said Baerbock.