Israel-Hamas war: First aid delivery due in Gaza in 'the next day or so', says UN

The United Nations said on Friday that the first aid delivery into the besieged Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt should take place “in the next day or so.”

“We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation in Gaza starts as quickly as possible… a first delivery is due to start in the next day or so,” the UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said, his spokesman told reporters in Geneva.

The Rafah crossing is Gaza’s only connection to Egypt. It is the sole route for aid to enter Gaza directly from outside Israel and the only exit that does not lead to Israeli territory.

It has become a focus in the intensifying conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have headed towards southern Gaza after Israel warned them to leave Gaza City and the north.

Egypt says the roads across the border need to be repaired after they were hit by Israeli airstrikes.

More than 200 trucks and 3,000 tonnes of aid are positioned at or near the Rafah crossing, The Guardian quoted head of the Red Crescent for North Sinai, Khalid Zayed, as saying.

Egypt has repeatedly denied that the crossing was closed on its end of the border, saying the aid has been waiting for guarantees that trucks entering will not be targeted by Israel.

Israel said it will not block humanitarian aid going into Gaza from Egypt, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But it will not allow supplies into Gaza from its own territory until Hamas releases all hostages.

The entire population of Gaza has been without access to electricity, food, fuel, and water for over a week due to a complete siege imposed by Israel following terror attacks by Hamas on 7 October.

Israeli airstrikes have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and have sparked protests across the Middle East, raising concerns about the conflict escalating into a broader regional crisis.

US President Joe Biden had brokered a deal between Egypt and Israel to permit some humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Biden announced this development after visiting Israel and stated that his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had agreed to open the Rafah Crossing for humanitarian aid, the only crossing not controlled by Israel.

Biden mentioned that up to 20 trucks of aid would be allowed into Gaza.

With inputs from agencies