16 October 2023; AA: The Egyptian Red Crescent said that aid trucks have started moving from Egypt’s Al Arish toward the Rafah border crossing with Gaza.
In a statement to Anadolu on Monday morning, Khaled Zaid, the director of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, said: "Aid trucks have begun to be dispatched to the Rafah border."
The trucks contain food supplies and medical equipment, he said.
The exact time for the aid to enter the Rafah crossing is not known, he said, adding: “Egyptian authorities have requested that trucks begin moving to the crossing quickly.”
The Egyptian Red Crescent Society is currently responsible for collecting relief aid from countries and institutions that are sending humanitarian assistance.
The Egyptian Red Crescent Society announced on Facebook that as of Sunday evening, relief aid arrived at Al Arish International Airport from Türkiye, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the arrival of land convoys carrying hundreds of trucks and tons of relief materials from the National Coalition for Civil Development Work (Egyptian Charity Assembly).
Ten days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over 1 million people – almost half the total population of Gaza – having been displaced.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, and water, food, fuel and medical supplies running out, as civilians flee to the south following Israeli warning to evacuate northern areas.
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 2,750, including 750 children. In Israel, 1,300 have been killed.
