Aid moved over Egyptian border unlikely to raise spirits in struggling Gaza

GAZA - Twenty truckloads of aid transported over the Egyptian border are unlikely to raise spirits in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, where Palestinians are squarely focused on surviving Israeli air strikes and acute food and medicine shortages.

The humanitarian crisis has worsened for the 2.3 million people trapped in the enclave.

After intensive diplomacy, Egypt agreed to reopen its border crossing with Gaza to allow aid to reach Palestinians, the United States said.

“(The aid) is something frivolous, we want nothing from Arab and foreign countries except to stop the violent bombardment on our houses,” said Mr El-Awad El-Dali, 65, speaking near the rubble of ruined homes.

Like many Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere, he feels Arab states have not done enough to support the Palestinian cause, especially those who have normalised ties with Israel.

“We want them to stop the bombardment on people who are getting killed inside their houses,” he said.

The US and Egypt have been pushing for a deal with Israel to get aid delivered to Gaza.

The White House said on Wednesday it had been agreed for up to 20 trucks to pass through, with hopes for more trucks later.

Israel reiterated it would not allow in aid through its crossing with Gaza until Hamas released about 200 hostages seized during its

attack on southern Israel on Oct 7

. Hamas militants killed about 1,400 people in the assault.

The Gaza health ministry said about 3,800 have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes on the besieged enclave.

The region remained volatile in the aftermath of an

explosion at Gaza’s Al Ahli Arab hospital

late on Tuesday, which Palestinian officials said killed 471 people.

They blamed the blast on what they said was an Israeli air strike, while Israel says it was caused by a failed rocket launch by Palestinian fighters.

US President Joe Biden said Cairo agreed to open the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza to allow about 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the enclave, where people are desperately short of food, water, fuel and other essentials after

Israel unleashed a blockade

and air strikes 12 days ago.

Israel and Egypt have upheld a blockade of Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, tightly controlling the movement of goods and people.

Gazans have grown resilient over the years, surviving wars between Hamas and Israel, blockades, and unemployment in one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

But the Hamas attack, the biggest against Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur war, followed by the fiercest ever Israeli strikes on Gaza, has created a monumental crisis.

Extended families gather in one place to feel a sense of safety. But it is hard to come by.

The sounds of children playing or jumping over furniture often come to a sudden halt during frequent explosions which rock neighbourhoods.

“My home fell over me. My daughter, who was the flower of the house, died. Look at these children, they have been injured like me, they took us out of the rubble. What is our fault?” said Ms Hoda Arafat, who was displaced and now lives in a tent.

“There was a woman screaming from under the rubble: ‘save us, save my daughter-in-law, she is bleeding’.”

“We want safety, we are civilians, not soldiers, children are out on the street... with no food or water, not even international protection nor human rights,” said Ms Salwa Abu Taya, holding a child in her hands.

“It is a shame for them to be left out on the street; how are we at fault? They targeted and displaced us from one place to another.”

There are few places to turn for help.

The Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip said it has run out of medicine.

The Gaza Health Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and the Hamas media office reported intensive Israeli bombing of houses and roads overnight across the area.

On Thursday morning, planes bombed and destroyed three high-rise residential towers that housed hundreds of families, forcing them to flee, Hamas media said.

In Jabalia refugee camp, people woke up to the sounds of explosions and the destruction of houses. Rescue workers were trying to recover people from under the rubble, health officials and witnesses said.

In one incident, two children, a boy and a girl, were covered by rubble but still alive.

The boy looked shocked as some people tried to light the area using phone flashlights and the lights of photographers’ cameras. REUTERS