Gaza aid flow 'hardly enough' to reverse Israeli siege impact: UNRWA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
27 Nov 2023 00:43

The chief of the Egyptian State Information Service says 120 aid trucks, including two carrying fuel, crossed Rafah on Sunday heading toward north Gaza.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt after the truce and prisoner exchange deal went into effect on Friday, November 24 (AFP)

The current aid being delivered to Gaza is insufficient to make up for the deep deprivation caused by the Israeli blockade on the Strip, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Sunday.

"Since … the beginning of the truce, we have seen a significant increase of trucks entering into Gaza. I would say on the first day we had an average of 40 trucks, which was far, far, far too little compared to the immense need in the Gaza Strip," Lazzarini said in an interview for CBS’ "Face the Nation."

"And now I would say over the last few days, we had an average of 160 to 200 trucks crossing Rafah and entering into Gaza. Having said that, I do believe that the 200 are hardly enough for the humanitarian response if we want to reverse the impact of the siege in the Gaza Strip, but we need also commercial flow," he said.

Gazans need much more supplies

The head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said on Sunday that 120 aid trucks, including 2 fuel trucks and 2 household cooking gas trucks, entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing, heading to the northern part of the Strip in coordination with the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Rashwan pointed out that "the .. [temporary] ceasefire is in effect without obstacles for the third day, thanks to the intensive efforts being made by Egypt in cooperation with our brothers in Qatar."

He emphasized the continuation of Egyptian efforts "to expedite the transfer of humanitarian aid to contribute to mitigating the humanitarian crisis for our Palestinian brothers in Gaza."

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Red Crescent in Gaza, Raed Nimis, confirmed that a convoy of aid, including medical supplies and medications, has been brought in and is being distributed.

Nimis warned, however, that the aid is so limited in quantities that it does not correspond to the urgent needs, especially considering there are more than 30,000 wounded individuals in Gaza due to the Israeli war.

On the same note, the Rafah crossing media office stressed that there is a need to increase the inflow of aid into Gaza, as what has entered so far falls significantly short of what is required for the Strip's people.

Since the launch of the Israeli war on Gaza, Egypt has received through the Rafah Crossing 353 injured individuals from Gaza, in addition to 8,514 foreigners and 1,256 Egyptians fleeing the aggression. Meanwhile, the total number of aid trucks that have entered the Strip through the crossing has reached 2,056 trucks, knowing that the daily number of trucks that used to enter the Strip before the aggression was 500.