US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on “all countries to keep the Rafah border crossing open to continue the flow of aid that is essential to the well-being of the people of Gaza,” the statement said.
“We have made it clear that Hamas must not interfere with the delivery of this life-saving aid,” Blinken noted. “Palestinian civilians are not responsible for the horrific terrorism of Hamas and they should not suffer as a result of its brutal actions.”
The aid delivery route was opened after days of intense negotiations and an agreement reached by US President Joe Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during Biden’s visit. in Israel earlier this week.
The first 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered the war-torn and besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt on Saturday, AFP correspondents on both sides said.
Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian chief, said he was “convinced that this delivery will be the start of a sustained effort to provide essential goods to the people of Gaza” and warned that “this first convoy must not be the last”.
The border crossing was closed again after the trucks passed, according to the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid to various UN agencies.
It was the first such shipment since war broke out two weeks ago between Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls 2.4 million people. populated Palestinian enclave.
Rafah is the only route into the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel, which has agreed to allow aid from Egypt at the request of its key ally, the United States.
Satellite images analyzed by the AP news agency on Friday showed a long convoy of humanitarian aid trucks waiting to cross the border from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
According to aid officials, more than 200 trucks were parked at the border crossing, carrying about 3,000. tons of help. The supplies are intended to provide some relief to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which Israel is blocking in response to an attack by Hamas militants on the Jewish state.
On October 7, the Palestinian Islamist group “Hamas” from the Gaza Strip unexpectedly attacked Israel, invading its territory and carrying out rocket attacks. More than 1.4 thousand people died in Israel. people, including civilians.
Israel claims that around 1,500 people were killed in the clashes. by Hamas fighters until its forces regained control of the area under attack.
In response to the attack, the Jewish state launched a bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip that has leveled entire city blocks and killed 4,385 Palestinians, mostly civilians, so far, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
Hamas is the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip; it has been involved in several wars with Israel since taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The group has been recognized as a terrorist by Israel, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and some other countries.
Hamas is supported by Iran, financing the purchase of weapons, supplying them and providing military training. Hamas has a political office in Qatar, where some of its leaders are based.
2.3 million people live in the Gaza Strip. people, but Israel, with the help of Egypt, has imposed a blockade on the territory since 2007 – it restricted the import of goods to and from the territory by water, sea or air, as well as the ability of the Palestinians themselves to leave the territory, except for a few tens of thousands of workers.
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