IRCS’s President Pir-Hossein Kolivand expressed, in a phone call with Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) CEO Ramy El-Nazer, readiness to send the fuel required for the operation of the suffering Gaza hospitals; some have already shut down for lack of fuel.

On Friday, El-Nazer called for the world countries to complete the airlift of Gaza-bound humanitarian aid as the ERC almost ran out of aid stock.

We are close to running out of stock of humanitarian aid directed to Gaza coming from all countries. We call everyone to complete the airlift of aid (the need is very high)!@ifrc @ICRC @antonioguterres pic.twitter.com/iHkgVXPwKe

— Ramy ElNazer (@ElnazerRamy) November 3, 2023

The ERC has so far directed 12 batches of humanitarian and relief aid through the Rafah crossing to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) since Saturday 21 October.

According to the PRCS, a total of 451 humanitarian aid trucks have entered the strip since the beginning of the Israeli war with no fuel included, which is equivalent to 30 trucks per day.

Around 100 humanitarian trucks are needed to enter Gaza per day to meet the most basic needs, the UN said.

Late in October, Egypt blamed Israel for the delayed delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza by creating hurdles for convoys and imposing overly strict and slow-paced inspection measures.

Egypt is ready to allow thousands of trucks to cross into Gaza daily but Israel is delaying them and completely prohibiting the entry of fuel, said Head of State Information Service Diaa Rashwan on Tuesday.

Israel has banned fuel required for operating hospitals, bakeries, shelters, and water treatment facilities from entering the strip, claiming that it can be used in military operations.

Due to the Israeli strikes and the lack of fuel, 16 out of 35 hospitals in Gaza have gone out of service, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Saturday.

Because of Gaza hospitals' failure to handle the increased number of injuries, the Rafah crossing has been open since Wednesday for the seriously injured Palestinians as per a recently reached deal.

Egypt receives 40-50 injured Palestinians from Gaza daily for treatment and it can receive a larger number on a daily basis, said Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar in a press conference in Al-Arish on Saturday.

Hundreds of foreigners and dual nationals have also crossed the Rafah crossing from Gaza over the past few days. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that it is working to evacuate 7,000 foreigners representing more than 60 countries.