As part of its ongoing efforts to supply the war-stricken Gaza Strip with necessary humanitarian aid, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) dispatched its 26th and 27th convoys, dubbed “Zad Al-Izza from Egypt to Gaza”, to the Strip on Sunday and Monday.
The two convoys comprised around 300 trucks carrying around 5,000 tons of much-needed aid, including 2,500 tons of food baskets and flour, oil, sugar, cheese, canned meals and baby formula.
According to Al-Qahera News channel correspondent Mohamed Obaid, the humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza by the Israeli authorities is limited to food and basic necessities and the convoys do not contain any medicines or medical supplies due to the strict restrictions imposed on their entry.
He also confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces are preventing the entry of sufficient quantities of diesel and fuel, with only a very small number of trucks allowed in at intervals of up to ten days or more.
The convoys, launched by the Egyptian Red Crescent, initiated their operations on 27 July, and since then they have carried thousands of tons of aid, including food, medications, personal care items, tents, and fuel into the Gaza Strip.
Amal Imam, executive director of the Egyptian Red Crescent, said it has been present on the border since the beginning of the crisis, serving as Egypt’s national mechanism for coordinating and dispatching aid to Gaza.
“The Rafah Crossing has never been closed on the Egyptian side, and the ERC has maintained its readiness at all logistical centres and its ongoing efforts to deliver more than half a million tons of humanitarian and relief aid, thanks to the efforts of 35,000 volunteers,” Imam said.
Governor of North Sinai Khaled Megawer said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is dire and that the world must act quickly to stop the war, pressure Israel to allow the entry of all humanitarian aid, and initiate a two-state solution.
His words came earlier this week during a visit by a delegation from the US Senate to the humanitarian aid building and ERC warehouses in North Sinai near the city of Arish. The delegation, consisting of Democratic Party Senators Christopher Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, also made a visit to the Rafah border crossing.
Megawer explained to the delegation that the other side of the crossing, visible from a few metres away, has been completely occupied by Israeli military forces since 2 March.
“Look the other way,” Megawer continued, speaking to the US delegation, “and you will be able to see a large part of the Gaza Strip and the damage it is suffering for yourselves. There is a big difference between receiving reports and seeing things firsthand on the ground yourselves.”
Megawer pointed out that Egypt has opened the Rafah Crossing around the clock, with humanitarian aid piling up on the Egyptian side while Israel obstructs its passage into the Gaza Strip, resulting in a significant portion of the food supplies spoiling while waiting to enter Gaza.
In Senator Van Hollen’s words, “as I understand it, the Israeli government has closed the entry of trucks through the Rafah Crossing, and the only point of entry is this gate [next to crossing] all the way to the Kerem Shalom Crossing, and these trucks are lined up waiting to cross.”
The two US senators expressed their astonishment at the long waits, sometimes two or three months, during which trucks are forced to stand at the crossing gate in the hope that the Israelis will approve their passage to the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
“Approximately how long does it take for trucks to enter,” Van Hollen asked Megawer, and was surprised to be told “two to three months.”
“Sometimes the food rots, which is an economic risk,” Megawer said, adding that there are around 5,400 trucks waiting to deliver food, water, and medicine to starving Palestinians in Gaza because of the Israeli blockade and Israel’s delaying their entry to the Strip through the Karm Abu Salem Crossing.
Despite these difficulties, Megawer insisted that Egypt will continue sending assistance to the people of Gaza as a strategic commitment.
“We will never give up,” he said.
He emphasised that by starving the people of Gaza, Israel is presenting them with “three options”: go to Israel and be bombed, jump into the Mediterranean, or go to Egyptian territory.
“The Israelis know quite well that the third option is a red line whose crossing we will never accept,” Megawer said, explaining that Egypt is seeking a two-state solution to achieve security and prosperity in the region.
Megawer also said that the Rafah Crossing is the only outlet linking Egypt and the Gaza Strip and that it is designated for the passage of individuals only. He indicated that Egypt has received a number of injured Palestinians through the crossing and provided them with all forms of humanitarian and medical assistance.
He said that during the ceasefire agreement in Gaza that was violated by Israel in March, Egypt was receiving approximately 150 wounded Palestinians daily through the Rafah Crossing. He stressed that there are three routes for evacuating the injured: the first to hospitals in North Sinai, the second to nearby hospitals in Ismailia and Port Said, and the third transferring critical cases directly to Cairo hospitals.
Megawer confirmed to the US delegation that most of the goods arriving from foreign and friendly countries are placed in ERC warehouses, where they are carefully packaged and placed in well-ventilated and spacious areas, whether in Arish, the capital of North Sinai, or in Sheikh Zuweid City, or in the logistics area near the Rafah Crossing.
The US delegation praised the efforts made by Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in the light of what its members described as “the intransigence and arbitrariness of the Israeli occupation forces” in preventing the flow of aid.
“This reality highlights the difference in approach, as Egypt exerts daily and continuous efforts, while Israel exploits administrative and temporary justifications to delay the arrival of aid,” Senator Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen and Merkley said they had listened to what amounted to “pure propaganda” from the Israeli side about “the most organised operation ever” to get aid into Gaza.
They said that the situation on the ground was completely different from what Israel had said. Merkley said that before their visit to North Sinai and the Rafah Crossing, they had heard rosy talk about Israel allowing enough food into Gaza, but the reality was different.
“Little aid is passing through because of Israeli restrictions and obstacles,” he said
The two senators’ visit to Arish and Rafah comes amid growing global outrage over Israel’s nearly two years of war and blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israel said this week that it intends to halt airdrops of humanitarian aid over Gaza City in the coming days, in addition to restricting the flow of aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, a step which comes within the framework of preparations to evacuate Gaza residents to the south of the Strip before launching Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned of the grave consequences of the Israeli military’s expansionist operations in Gaza and of forcing the Palestinians to move to the south in a process aimed at displacing them from the Strip.
His comments came during Abdelatty’s meeting with senators Van Hollen and Merkley on Sunday evening. He said that Israel has so far been reluctant to give a response to an Egyptian-Qatari proposal that seeks to achieve a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages and prisoners.
He also emphasised the importance of the international community playing its part in pressuring Israel to end the war and accept the ceasefire deal.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 4 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: