The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has opened to allow a small amount of desperately needed aid to flow into the Gaza Strip. The aid is intended to help Palestinians who are running short of food, medicine, and water in the territory that is under an Israeli siege. The border crossing was closed for two weeks after Hamas fighters launched a deadly attack on towns in southern Israel, prompting Israel to seal off the territory and launch waves of punishing air attacks.
More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid had been positioned near the crossing for days before heading into Gaza. The aid includes medical supplies, and a limited amount of food supplies. The opening of the border crossing is expected to provide some relief to Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom are children.
However, the situation remains dire as many in Gaza are reduced to eating one meal a day and without enough water to drink. Hospitals say they are running low on medicine and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide blackout. The aid is a welcome development but much more needs to be done to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza.
The Palestinian group Hamas, a convoy of 20 trucks carrying medicine and food supplies entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing on Saturday. Hospitals say they are running low on medicine and fuel for emergency generators amid a territory-wide blackout.
The aid trucks are expected to cross into the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. The crossing was opened after days of intense diplomatic negotiations and will allow the aid to reach the 2.3 million Palestinians who have been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing war.
The United Nations’ emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, the aid convoy’s entry into Gaza is a welcome development. He stated that the delivery followed “days of deep and intense negotiations with all relevant sides to make sure that aid operation into Gaza resumes as quickly as possible and with the right conditions”.
“I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies – including food, water, medicine and fuel – to the people of Gaza, in a safe, dependable, unconditional and unimpeded manner,” he added.
The Israeli military, the humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip on Saturday will not include fuel. The aid shipment is expected to include food and medicine and will be delivered to the southern areas of the enclave, where the Israeli military has urged Palestinian civilians to congregate to avoid its fighting with Hamas.
The World Health Organization recommends access to at least 50 litres of water per person as the minimum level for survival. However, most people in Gaza are now believed to be surviving on three litres per day which is far below the minimum level set by WHO.
The fuel shortage in Gaza has caused a catastrophic halt in the healthcare system. Seven hospitals and 21 primary healthcare centers have been forced to become “out of service”. The hospitals are running mostly on diesel generators, with electricity available for only three to four hours a day. The fuel reserves at all hospitals across the Gaza Strip are expected to last only around 24 more hours, putting thousands of patients at risk.
The shutdown of backup generators would place the lives of thousands of patients at risk. Health centers barely have any drinking water, food, medicine or beds left to care for the injured, whose numbers keep rising as a result of ongoing Israeli airstrikes. The ongoing Israeli airstrikes have forced hospitals to become makeshift morgues for victims of the conflict.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during his second visit to Israel since the crisis triggered by the 7 October attack on Israeli communities by Hamas, Gaza’s rulers, that the US and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organisations to reach civilians in Gaza”.
The situation is particularly dire for newborn babies in incubators who require a constant supply of electricity and oxygen. Without fuel, thousands of patients including newborn babies in incubators are at immediate risk. Doctors say many patients, such as kidney and cancer patients, are already straddling a line between life and death.
Juliette Touma, the communications director at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), fuel is an essential commodity that is required to continue delivering aid to people in need. In a statement to Al Jazeera, she emphasized the importance of fuel and the need for it to be delivered promptly. She stated, “Fuel is absolutely critical. Fuel needs to come in. If we are expected, and we would like to, continue to deliver assistance to people, we will need fuel.”
James Bays, a journalist at Al Jazeera, the opening of the Rafah crossing is a significant development as it might lead to more aid being sent into Gaza. However, experts are warning that more aid is needed to address the dire humanitarian situation in the region.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing is expected to allow more aid trucks into Gaza. However, experts warn that more aid is needed to address the dire humanitarian situation in the region. According to reports, Israel has only permitted 20 trucks into Gaza so far and has refused to allow fuel into the region. The United Nations has said that at least 100 trucks are required to deliver immediate assistance.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays said that although the opening of the Rafah crossing is “significant” as it might lead to more aid being sent into Gaza, experts are saying more aid is needed.
“I have to say 20 trucks, given that Gaza used to get – in terms of aid coming into Gaza before this conflict started – about 100 trucks of aid a day … so this really is a drop in the ocean,” he said.
Cindy McCain, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, recently expressed her concern about the inadequacy of aid in a statement to Al Jazeera. She stated that 20 trucks of aid is not enough to meet the needs of the people who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. The World Food Programme is a humanitarian organization that provides food assistance to millions of people affected by conflicts, natural disasters, and other crises around the world.
“The situation inside Gaza is dire. Not only is there no food, there is no water, electricity, or fuel. And that combination is not only catastrophic but can lead to more starvation and disease as well,” she said. “We’ve got to get more trucks in.”
The situation in Palestine is a humanitarian crisis that requires immediate attention from the international community. It is essential that governments and other organizations work together to provide aid and support to those who are suffering.
Hamas’s media office issued a statement on Saturday saying that expected truckloads of aid “will not change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza”.
ALSO | Hamas releases 2 American hostages after two weeks in captivity