The war in the Gaza Strip continues for the forty-fourth day, Sunday, leaving more than two million people exposed to dire humanitarian conditions, in light of the bombing and the denial of water, food, electricity, and fuel, and with the limited amount of aid entering the Strip.
International organizations have always considered that the aid arriving in Gaza is merely a “drop in the ocean” in relation to what the Strip needs, in light of the massive destruction of vital facilities and hospitals and the large displacement process that causes most of the Strip’s population to live in the south, after repeated calls from the Israeli army asking them to leave, After northern and central Gaza became a military operations zone.
Since the outbreak of events, Egypt began preparing relief trucks and sending them to the Rafah land border crossing with the Gaza Strip, and countries and international organizations began sending this aid through the airport and port of Al-Arish in North Sinai Governorate, in order to bring it into the Gaza Strip.
Aid entry mechanism.
Egypt controls the Rafah crossing for its part, but with the start of the war in Gaza, the Palestinian side of the Strip was exposed to several Israeli air strikes, and coordination became the basis for sending any aid through the crossing. There have always been calls for Cairo from inside and outside to open the Rafah crossing permanently, which is what Cairo confirms this and indicates that the crossing is closed on the other side by an Israeli decision.
The director of the Red Crescent in North Sinai, Khaled Zayed, said in statements to Al-Hurra website that the Egyptian Red Crescent is the one responsible for delivering aid to the Palestinian side. He continued: “The trucks arrive at the Al-Awja border crossing between Egypt and Israel, and the Israeli side inspects them and then heads for the Red Crescent to receive them.” Palestinian Red.
In numbers: What did each Arab country provide to Gaza?
Arab countries continue to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which is witnessing a stifling crisis as a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas since last October 7.
The aid arrives at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), in the Gaza Strip, for distribution within the Strip. The agency’s spokesman, Adnan Abu Hasna, told Al-Hurra website that UNRWA receives its aid on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing. He added, “We have the capabilities to store them with 5,000 employees working in services designated for the displaced, and we have warehouses in Rafah, the central region, and Khan Yunis.”
It is noteworthy that the current war broke out after an unprecedented attack launched by the Hamas movement on southern Israel on October 7, which led to the killing of about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, most of whom died on the first day of the attack, according to the Israeli authorities.
Israel vowed to “eliminate Hamas” and launched an intense air and artillery bombardment campaign, and began ground operations as of October 27, causing the death of more than 12,000 people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of them civilians and including women and children, according to the latest toll issued by the Gaza Strip health authorities.
Aid trucks began entering the Gaza Strip on October 21, while no fuel trucks entered until three days ago.
What is the impact of aid?
The displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip are living in tragic conditions in light of the scarcity of food supplies and the interruption of drinking water, electricity, and cooking gas as well.
The Palestinian, Hanan Al-Qara, spoke to Al-Hurra TV about the conditions there, and said that she was forced to leave her home in Gaza City and move south, in search of a safe haven for her and her children away from the Israeli bombing.
Al-Qara added: “In the absence of gas for cooking, I resort to using firewood to prepare food for my children, even though I suffer from respiratory diseases.” She continues: “We did not receive any aid. The situation keeps getting more difficult.”
Tons of aid are piled up in front of the crossing from the Egyptian side, while countries also continue to send support, despite only about 40 trucks entering the Strip daily.
“No gas to cook and no water to drink.” Displaced people in the southern Gaza Strip tell details of their suffering
Thousands of displaced people are at risk of starvation in displacement centers and the southern regions of the Gaza Strip, in light of a major food shortage and the interruption of drinking water, electricity, and cooking gas.
Zayed continues his statements to Al-Hurra by saying: “We are preparing to receive a huge Saudi aid truck in the coming days, and the aid is arriving by land, sea and air, and it continues to arrive in Al-Arish.”
He continued: “The Red Crescent brought in more than a thousand trucks, and there are about 500 more ready to enter the Gaza Strip, in addition to the continued flow of aid.”
According to the Egyptian Red Crescent, the number of Arab countries that sent aid and relief materials to the Gaza Strip reached 12 countries, with a total of 11,227 tons as of last Tuesday.
For his part, the UNRWA spokesman continued his speech to Al-Hurra by saying that there are two million people in the southern Gaza Strip “in need of humanitarian aid, and what is arriving is a drop in the ocean of needs.”
“Beggars begging for food”
He also explained that an average of 40 trucks arrive in Gaza per day, while before the escalation, 500 trucks entered the Strip daily, including 60 trucks designated for UNRWA only, adding that the aid that arrives is not only for UNRWA, but rather “there is aid for the Palestinian Red Crescent and other organizations.” Others, such as the World Health Organization and the World Food Programme.
Abu Hasna added, “Aid was distributed in areas north of the Gaza Strip at first, but since the Israeli army separated the Gaza Strip and divided it into two halves, the flow of aid to the north has stopped, with the exception of two medical convoys containing medicines for Al-Shifa Hospital.”
In the south of the Gaza Strip in Khan Yunis, one of the displaced people said as he stood in a long line to get some loaves of bread: “Currently, it can be said that we are living on the equivalent of 15 percent of what we were able to afford before the war.”
Report: War turns Gaza into a “cemetery for children”
The United Nations has warned that the war has turned Gaza into a “cemetery for thousands of children,” as thousands of children have been killed in the Strip since the start of the Israeli attack, according to officials in Gaza. While the Israeli army says it is taking “all possible precautions” to avoid killing civilians.
Another displaced woman indicated that she has more than 50 members of her family living in tents, stressing that they need food, drinking water, and heating supplies, as the harsh winter approaches.
In turn, another displaced person says: “Getting food has become almost impossible, and families who used to eat 3 or 4 meals a day can hardly find a single meal at the present time.”
He added sadly: “We have become beggars begging for food and drinking water, in light of these difficult conditions.”
2023-11-19 16:11:37
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