Egypt pushes to expedite aid to Gaza
Published: 04:12 PM,Dec 07,2023 | EDITED : 08:12 PM,Dec 07,2023
Members of the Jordanian Armed Forces wear oxygen masks as they prepare to airdrop medical aid destined to the Jordanian private field hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. - Reuters
CAIRO: Egypt is striving to accelerate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip, a senior official said on Thursday, after the amount of relief getting through to the Palestinian enclave dipped with the end of the Israel-Hamas truce on December 1.
Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, said Egypt would never allow the emptying of the Gaza Strip of its residents as Israel's military campaign pushes them southwards towards the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Rashwan added that Egypt believed Israel's operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank aimed to force Palestinians towards Jordan.
Since the conflict in Gaza began on October 7, the Rafah crossing on its border with Egypt has been the only entry point for aid trucks carrying desperately needed supplies of food, medicines, water and fuel.
The number of trucks crossing daily has dropped in recent days to fewer than 100, from nearly 200 when the week-long truce was in place. On Wednesday, 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt, according to the United Nations.
Egypt, along with the United Nations, has been lobbying Israel to speed up an inspection process for aid trucks that requires the vehicles to drive to Egypt's border with Israel before looping back to Rafah.
AID FROM JORDAN: Meanwhile, Jordan's air force said on Thursday it had dropped urgent medical supplies to a Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza, as the Israeli military focussed the latest stage of its offensive on the southern city of Khan Younis.
It is the fourth time Jordan has air-dropped medical and relief supplies to Gaza, but it is the first to be carried out to the Jordanian hospital in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south of the Palestinian territory.
The hospital was set up only about two weeks ago. The first three times, aid was dropped at the Jordanian field hospital in northern Gaza.
Israeli tanks and forces moved into the city in recent days and intense urban fighting was reported on Wednesday. Dozens of Hamas positions have been attacked, the army said on Thursday.
Fighting also continued in the north of the coastal region and Israel's navy again fired on Hamas positions from the Mediterranean Sea.
The suffering of Palestinian civilians in the densely populated strip has prompted international criticism.
In a rare move, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. — Reuters/dpa
Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, said Egypt would never allow the emptying of the Gaza Strip of its residents as Israel's military campaign pushes them southwards towards the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Rashwan added that Egypt believed Israel's operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank aimed to force Palestinians towards Jordan.
Since the conflict in Gaza began on October 7, the Rafah crossing on its border with Egypt has been the only entry point for aid trucks carrying desperately needed supplies of food, medicines, water and fuel.
The number of trucks crossing daily has dropped in recent days to fewer than 100, from nearly 200 when the week-long truce was in place. On Wednesday, 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza from Egypt, according to the United Nations.
Egypt, along with the United Nations, has been lobbying Israel to speed up an inspection process for aid trucks that requires the vehicles to drive to Egypt's border with Israel before looping back to Rafah.
AID FROM JORDAN: Meanwhile, Jordan's air force said on Thursday it had dropped urgent medical supplies to a Jordanian field hospital in southern Gaza, as the Israeli military focussed the latest stage of its offensive on the southern city of Khan Younis.
It is the fourth time Jordan has air-dropped medical and relief supplies to Gaza, but it is the first to be carried out to the Jordanian hospital in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south of the Palestinian territory.
The hospital was set up only about two weeks ago. The first three times, aid was dropped at the Jordanian field hospital in northern Gaza.
Israeli tanks and forces moved into the city in recent days and intense urban fighting was reported on Wednesday. Dozens of Hamas positions have been attacked, the army said on Thursday.
Fighting also continued in the north of the coastal region and Israel's navy again fired on Hamas positions from the Mediterranean Sea.
The suffering of Palestinian civilians in the densely populated strip has prompted international criticism.
In a rare move, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. — Reuters/dpa