UPDATE – Limited number of aid trucks enter besieged Gaza Strip via Rafah border crossing

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Rania Abu Shamala and Betul Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – A limited number of aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Monday, as famine induced by a stifling Israeli blockade continues to widen in the Palestinian enclave.

Video footage captured by an Anadolu cameraman showed a few number of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entering the enclave.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera news earlier said that aid trucks lined up near the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing for the second consecutive day.

The trucks carrying vital humanitarian supplies are waiting to proceed toward Kerem Shalom, where they will unload their cargo for distribution inside the besieged Palestinian enclave, according to the media outlet.

“The trucks are loaded with large quantities of flour—the most critically scarce commodity in Gaza—as well as infrastructure repair equipment,” said the channel.

It added that the Egyptian Red Crescent, which has maintained a consistent presence in the border city of Arish, continues to coordinate and facilitate the delivery of aid from Egypt and various international donors.

The channel reported that since the onset of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, an estimated 35,000 aid trucks have entered the territory through coordination efforts led by Egypt and international partners.

The Gaza Media Office said Sunday that only 73 aid trucks entered the besieged enclave in the last 24 hours.

Palestinian authorities say that Gaza needs 600 aid trucks daily to meet the needs of the territory’s 2.4 million population.

On Sunday, Israel announced plans for localized temporary pauses in fighting to allow aid deliveries through designated safe corridors after scores of Palestinians died of starvation in the blockaded enclave.

Gaza’s hunger crisis has spiraled into a humanitarian catastrophe. Harrowing footage shows severely emaciated residents, some reduced to skin and bone, collapsing from exhaustion, dehydration, and prolonged starvation.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.