Israel-Hamas war: Third aid convoy enters Gaza via Egypt border crossing

An aid convoy successfully entered the besieged Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Monday, marking the third aid convoy to reach Gaza since the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October. Reports from both the Egyptian and Palestinian sides of the border indicate that over a dozen lorries crossed into Gaza through Rafah. This follows the arrival of 34 trucks over the weekend, as confirmed by an Egyptian Red Cross official. The United Nations has stressed that a minimum of 100 trucks per day is required to meet the basic needs of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents, who are facing the devastating consequences of the ongoing conflict, which has already resulted in a high number of casualties. Relief workers said far more aid was needed to address the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where half the territory’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes. The UN humanitarian agency said Saturday’s convoy carried about four percent of an average day’s imports before the war and “a fraction of what is needed after 13 days of complete siege.” The Israeli military said the humanitarian situation was “under control,” even as the UN called for 100 trucks a day to enter.

Israel repeated its calls for people to leave northern Gaza, including by dropping leaflets from the air. It estimated 700,000 have already fled. But hundreds of thousands remain. That would raise the risk of mass civilian casualties in any ground offensive.

With inputs from agencies