Egypt to send 300 trucks of aid into Gaza every day 

Egypt yesterday increased the number of humanitarian aid trucks to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing, allowing more than 300 trucks in, more than at any other period since Israel launched its bombing campaign.

The head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said in a statement yesterday that Cairo decided to boost the daily humanitarian aid trucks, including food, medical supplies and essential items, to a minimum of 300 trucks a day starting yesterday.

Since the beginning of Ramadan on 11 March, 322 aid trucks have entered the northern areas of Gaza from Egypt.

Since the start of the war on 7 October 2023, 19,354 trucks have entered Gaza through Rafah, carrying 19,952 tonnes of medical supplies, and 23,453 tonnes of food, according to Rashwan.

He added: “These trucks also carried 10,435 tonnes of fuel, 26,692 tonnes of water, 44,103 tonnes of other relief materials, and 123 equipped ambulances.”

Some 3,764 injured and sick Palestinians, accompanied by 6,191 companions, have entered Egypt from Gaza for medical treatment, alongside 66,759 foreign nationals and dual citizens, and 6,330 Egyptians, he added.

Israel imposed a complete siege on Gaza on 9 October 2023, banning the entry of food, fuel or medical supplies and cutting off water pipes to the enclave. No aid was allowed into the Strip for three weeks, with occupation forces threatening to strike trucks that attempted to enter Gaza through its border with Egypt.

In January, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israel had prevented 75 per cent of humanitarian missions heading to the northern Gaza Strip.

READ: The UN Secretary-General calls for a new ceasefire from Rafah Crossing in Egypt

In January, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the international body and other organisations “face a cumbersome process of verifications and multiple unjustified rejections of desperately needed items.”

He stressed that “dozens of humanitarians have been waiting for months to receive their visas from the Government of Israel,” while “everyone in Gaza is hungry.”

The situation has now escalated, with a “man-made famine” spreading across the enclave as result of limited available food, European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.