A truck loaded with humanitarian aid drives toward the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. Photo: AFP
The convoy set out earlier in the day from the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, "loaded with food, flour, and reconstruction materials," according to Al-Qahera News.
Additionally, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) launched an aid convoy to Gaza on Sunday, named Zad Al-Ezza: From Egypt to Gaza, consisting of over 100 trucks carrying 1,200 tonnes of food supplies, including approximately 840 tonnes of flour and 450 tonnes of food baskets.
Trucks cannot enter Gaza directly from the Egyptian side of Rafah; instead, convoys are rerouted a few kilometres to the nearby Karm Abu Salem crossing—operated by Israel—where they undergo inspection before being allowed into southern Gaza.
The delivery is part of Egypt’s ongoing efforts to ease the deepening humanitarian crisis in the besieged Strip by providing life-saving aid.
On Saturday, Israel announced a limited “tactical pause” in parts of Gaza to facilitate the delivery of aid, designating secure corridors for convoys. The Israeli military said the daily pause—from 10:00am to 8:00pm—applies only to specific areas, including Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah, and parts of Gaza City where it claimed its forces are not currently operating.
The Israeli military announced on Saturday via Telegram that it had conducted an airdrop of humanitarian aid “as part of ongoing efforts to facilitate entry of supplies.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, however, warned that such measures fall far short of addressing the crisis.
“Airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient and can even kill starving civilians,” Lazzarini wrote on X.
The limited flow of additional aid follows global outrage over Israel’s five-month-long blockade and the “flour massacres” committed by occupation forces at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution centres—US-registered and Israeli-backed—where over 1,000 Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed since May. Israel’s deliberate starvation of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents has been widely condemned as a form of collective punishment and a war crime.
According to the United Nations (UN), 600 to 800 trucks of humanitarian aid are needed daily to sustain the population, an estimate far from being met under current restrictions.
Aid organizations continue to warn of a dramatic surge in malnutrition among children as the blockade continues unabated.
Short link: