WHO Director: Humanitarian aid for Gaza arriving Friday

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Oct 2023 19:18

The WHO said it is prepared to deliver supplies into Gaza with the help of the Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent Societies once the Rafah crossing is open.

Policemen stand at Rafah crossing port, Egypt, as a humanitarian aid convoy for the Gaza Strip is parked Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023 (AP)

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Thursday that the initial shipments of humanitarian assistance for the Gaza Strip are expected to reach their destination on Friday through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go. We are working with the Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent Societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as the Rafah crossing is opened, hopefully, tomorrow," Tedros told a briefing.

In a tweet published yesterday, Tedros wrote that the aid convoys had been stuck for four days at the border.

The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control.

Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives.

For 4 days @WHO supplies have been stuck at the border.

We need immediate access to start delivering life-saving supplies.

We need violence on all sides to stop.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 18, 2023

This comes as part of the WHO initiative to dispatch a daily convoy of up to 100 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing following Egypt's agreement to open the vital lifeline, as per a statement issued by Richard Brennan, regional emergency director for the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional office.

Following his visit to occupied Palestine, US President Joe Biden revealed that he had obtained approval from both "Israel" and Egypt to facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza through Egypt.

Although a convoy of up to 20 trucks is set to make its way into the isolated territory, it is expected to reach Gaza no earlier than Friday due to the need for road repairs.

"We hope to get up to a 100 trucks a day. So, we have got to rapidly scale up that assistance … This is not a sprint, this is just the start, this is a marathon," Brennan told CNN.

The official further mentioned that several factors are making the aid delivery operation more difficult, including ensuring the safety of workers, addressing road repairs, and ensuring that the conflicting parties uphold the security of the convoys.

"Israel" has stated that it will not impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance from Egypt, specifically when it comprises food, water, and medicine intended for the civilian population in the southern Gaza Strip or those relocating to the area. However, they have indicated that any supplies reaching Hamas will be obstructed.

The latest updates on the genocide reveal that the death toll has risen to 3,785, including 1,524, 1,000 women and 120 elderly people, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported today.