Egypt agrees to send aid trucks through Israeli crossing to Gaza but impact is unclear

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 3:53 AM EDT, May 25, 2024


TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Egypt said Friday it has agreed to send United Nations humanitarian aid trucks through Israel’s main crossing into Gaza, but it was unclear if they will be able to enter the territory as fighting raged in the southern city of Rafah amid Israel’s escalating offensive there.

Meanwhile, the bodies of three more hostages killed on Oct. 7 were recovered overnight from Gaza, Israel’s army said Friday. The CIA chief met in Paris with Israeli and Qatari officials, trying to revive negotiations for a cease-fire and a hostage release.

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has spiraled as the U.N. and other aid agencies say the entry of food and other supplies to them has plunged dramatically since Israel’s Rafah offensive began more than two weeks ago. On Friday, the top U.N. court — the International Court of Justice — ordered Israel to halt the Rafah offensive, though Israel is unlikely to comply.

At the heart of the problem lie the two main crossings through which around 300 trucks of aid a day had been flowing into Gaza before the offensive began. Israeli troops seized the Rafah crossing into Egypt, which has been inoperative since. The nearby Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza has remained open, and Israel says it has been sending hundreds of trucks a day into it. But while commercial trucks have successfully crossed, the U.N. says it cannot reach Kerem Shalom to pick up aid as it enters because fighting in the area makes it too dangerous.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hostages-16eb31044551df186a934dc66e3948aa

[AloeVera]

1. Ridiculous.

There were just two crossings Israel left open, to serve 1.9 million people in the south. That was bad enough.

Now one, Rafah, is closed. For that, some blame Israel, others blame Egypt. And the other is inaccessible to aid agencies because it's now in a war zone.

Of course there are solutions but will they be implemented in time to prevent famine and disease, epidemics? What should people eat in the meantime?

I wonder why this issue was not tackled before the Rafah invasion - wasn't there supposed to be a "credible, executable" humanitarian plan BEFORE the Rafah offensive? A red line?