40 Aid trucks to arrive in Gaza, more needed: WFP
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According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Palestine Representative and Director Samer Abdel Jaber explained that one million people require forty trucks of food every day, while two million require 100 trucks.
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The first of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the besieged Gaza Strip on October 21 through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt (AFP)
According to United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Palestine Representative and Director Samer Abdel Jaber, an additional 40 trucks are scheduled to make their way into Gaza on Sunday.
However, he highlighted that the 40 trucks were nowhere close to enough for what was needed in the strip.
During an interview with CNN, he noted " We have also to note that that’s not enough compared to the soaring needs … We need more than that."
Abdel Jaber explained that one million people require forty trucks of food every day, while two million require 100 trucks.
The trucks transporting food, water, and medication are not carrying gasoline, he added, adding that the weekend power outage in Gaza constituted a "major challenge" for WFP.
On Saturday, Egypt's Foreign Ministry divulged that "Israeli obstacles", such as truck inspection processes, were slowing the timely delivery of supplies to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border between Egypt and besieged Gaza.
A ministry spokesperson stated that "the trucks must be inspected at the Israeli Nitzana crossing before they head to the Rafah crossing on a journey that takes a distance of 100 km (62 miles) before they actually enter the Rafah crossing, which causes obstacles that significantly delay the arrival of aid."
Since the Israelis imposed a blockade on Gaza, the Rafah gate, which is administered by Egypt but does not border the Israeli-occupied part of Palestine, has become the major point of humanitarian distribution.
Before the fighting, roughly 500 trucks per day crossed into Gaza, but in recent days, just 12 lorries per day have entered, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
According to a border source, that journey caused a 16-hour delay and is the reason why the number of trucks never again reached the high of 20 trucks on the first day deliveries resumed.
On October 24, UN agencies pleaded "on their knees" for unhindered access to Gaza, claiming that current supplies were insufficient to maintain the Palestinian people following two weeks of Israeli air attacks.
Since "Israel" imposed a total siege on the Strip, relentlessly bombarding it, UN organizations have made more urgent calls for help.
