The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it off and began pounding it with airstrikes following Hamas’ bloody rampage two weeks ago.
Just 20 trucks were allowed in, an amount aid workers said was insufficient to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis. More than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid have been waiting nearby for days.
Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and drinking dirty water. Hospitals say they are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. Five hospitals have stopped functioning because of fuel shortages and bombing damage, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In a statement posted early Sunday on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, the Israeli military said it had launched a strike on the Al-Ansar mosque at the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Biden said the United States “remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas.”
Guterres emphasized international concern over civilians in Gaza, telling a summit in Cairo that Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
Hezbollah said six of its fighters were killed Saturday, and the group’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned that Israel would pay a high price if it starts a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
At the summit Saturday, Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi called for ensuring aid to Gaza, negotiating a cease-fire and resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which broke down more than a decade ago.
Associated Press journalists Isabel DeBre, Julia Frankel and Ravi Nessman in Jerusalem, Sam Magdy in Cairo, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
The original article contains 1,519 words, the summary contains 187 words. Saved 88%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Why is Egypt being so miserly with the border crossing? Surely it doesn’t cost them anything to let in 200 aid trucks vs 20.
Is this a one way trip for the drivers?
Because Israel keeps bombing near there, the roads leading to it are destroyed and Israel is the number one party that is opposed to the humanitarian aid.
So no, Egypt is trying to get those trucks in without all their volunteers dying in a giant fire caused by the Israeli army.
It may not cost Egypt directly but it will definitely be costly to whoever is crossing the border, especially during this heightened conflict and when it’s strategically important not to give any breathing space to the Gaza residents so that they’ll move to the south. Israel has record of killing international activists who were within the vicinity of Gaza blockade before, e.g. the memorable Mavi Marmara incident.
Agreed. It takes a lot of guts to drive into a situation you won’t be able to leave. That’s courage.
From what I understand Egypt by treaty isn’t in full control of what comes into Rafah. Normally goods aren’t allowed in at all and must first cross into Israeli-controlled territory and then into Gaza through a different crossing. Worst case scenario Egypt sends in aid and the trucks get attacked.
Maybe I’m cynical, but Egypt might not want to bail out Israel because this catastrophe makes Israel look bad.
