4 days ago
Egypt dispatches 10th aid convoy to Gaza
Egypt's 10th aid convoy started rolling through the Rafah crossing on Thursday early morning towards the inspection point of the Karm Abu Salem crossing, waiting for permission to unload tons of life-saving food and medical supplies for the Palestinian Red Crescent and UN aid agencies to deliver to Gaza.
The convoy is part of the emergency Egyptian response, in collaboration with the UN and its humanitarian partners, to stem famine conditions unfolding in Gaza over the past several weeks amid the Israeli genocidal war and engineered famine in the strip.
The convoy is carrying freshly baked bread, hot meals, flour, and urgently needed medical supplies for the besieged strip, according to media reports.
Late on Wednesday, Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) Executive Director Amal Imam said the total aid sent from Egypt to the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has reached 36,000 trucks carrying over 500,000 tons of aid. Seventy percent of this is humanitarian aid, while the remaining 30 percent consists of relief and medical supplies.
"This aid includes 200 trucks coordinated with the Egyptian National Alliance for Civil and Development Work," Imam told the Al-Hayat Al-Youm TV programme.
Media reports also confirmed that aid trucks unload their cargoes at the Karm Abu Salem crossing after inspection by the Israeli occupation forces, waiting to be delivered to starved Palestinians by the Palestinian Red Crescent and other UN aid agencies working in the strip.
The five-month-old complete Israeli blockade on the entry of food, water, and medicine to Gaza has driven most of the strip's 2.3 million population into famine. This Israeli-induced starvation has killed at least 200 Palestinians, including tens of children.
Since 27 July, the ERC has managed to deliver 20,000 tons of aid supplies to Gaza under the Zad El-Ezza: From Egypt to Gaza humanitarian initiative to save starving Palestinians.
However, Israel has continued to delay the entry of aid trucks into Gaza at the Karm Abu Salem crossing as Israeli soldiers inspected trucks over and over for hours at a time.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian military spokesman said twelve Egyptian military transport aircraft have airdropped large quantities of food aid to areas in Gaza that are difficult to access by land over the past three days.
The airdrops are conducted in parallel with land convoys through the Rafah crossing.
On Tuesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi described the war in Gaza as "a war of starvation and genocide," calling for an immediate ceasefire and the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid to the strip. He also categorically rejected the accusations levelled at Egypt of blocking aid.
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