"These are gifts for our people in Palestine." However, they have not reached Gaza for thirteen days, awaiting Israeli approval to open the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian border with the Strip. As a result, they have piled up in front of the crossing.
However, the Israeli "yes" came after a swift visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel, with clear conditions:
- First, This food, water, and medicine aid will not be allowed to reach Hamas through Rafah. If they do, they will be subject to attack.
- Secondly, Israel will not allow any humanitarian aid to be provided through its territory to the Gaza Strip as long as its kidnapped individuals are not returned.
- Thirdly, Tel Aviv requested the intervention of the Red Cross to inspect the situation of the hostages.
In the details of the aid entry deal, initially, about twenty trucks will cross through the Rafah Crossing, and this will not happen before Friday, as the road needs to be repaired due to Israeli shelling.
If things go as planned, the second batch of aid will follow. As for supervising the operation, Egypt, the United Nations, and the Egyptian Red Crescent will handle this matter, as confirmed by the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
It is worth noting that this agreement was criticized by the families of the hostages held by Hamas, considering that the Israeli government pampers murderers and kidnappers with baklava and medicine.
This covers the aid crossing part. As for the exit of people with dual nationalities and foreigners from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah Crossing, Shoukry linked it to the repair of the crossing on the Gaza side after Israel heavily bombed it.
In summary, twenty aid trucks will not be enough for Gaza noting that the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths confirmed that the Gaza Strip needs a massive amount of humanitarian aid, approximately a hundred trucks daily.