Egypt intensifies preparation for aid delivery into Gaza via Rafah
Arish: Egyptian authorities have been intensifying aid delivery efforts in the North Sinai province bordering Gaza in preparation for the reopening of the Rafah crossing, the only channel linking the Gaza Strip with Egypt.
In the Egyptian city of Arish near the Rafah crossing, hundreds of aid truck drivers are awaiting the green light to deliver aid to the besieged enclave that has suffered more than 15 months, Xinhua news agency reported.
The long-awaited truce agreement between Hamas and Israel that was reached in Doha on Wednesday is expected to be enforced on Sunday.
Xinhua correspondents in Arish city witnessed trucks loaded with food, clothes, medical equipment, tents, mobile toilets, and other relief materials lining up in several cities in North Sinai, mainly Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah, some of which have been waiting for several months.
Ahmad Adel, one of the truck drivers, hopes he can drive to the Palestinian side of the crossing to help Gazan people, adding, “It was a moment of joy to all drivers when we heard about the news of reaching the deal.”
A security source said that at least 500 aid trucks will enter Gaza from the Rafah crossing and through the Israeli Karm Abu Salem border crossing, adding that Egyptian authorities have established several logistic centers.
A blood donor campaign was launched in anticipation of receiving injured Palestinians, while the medical sector is at utmost alert in all Sinai hospitals, according to a medical source.
Hospitals in Arish, Sheik Zuweid, and Rafah are well-equipped, and medical teams in 100 ambulances have been sent to the Rafah crossing to receive the injured Palestinians, the source added.
Meanwhile, a security source told Xinhua that the Egyptian side prepared heavy machines to help pave all the roads and passages on the Palestinian side to promote access to urgent humanitarian aid.
A source from the Egyptian Red Crescent said over 1,000 relief aid trucks are currently prepared to pass through the Rafah crossing.
Egyptian Red Crescent teams in North Sinai are divided into action groups to offer psychological support, facilitate the transfer of the wounded from the crossing to hospitals, and prepare food and medical aid.
Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar held a meeting on Friday to ensure the capacity of hospitals. He instructed an increase in the number of medical teams in the intensive care departments of hospitals in North Sinai, according to statements from the ministry.
Earlier in the day, delegations from Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel met in Cairo to establish mechanisms for implementing the ceasefire deal, Egypt’s Al-Qahera News TV channel reported.
The mechanisms will cover the reopening of the Rafah crossing for dispatching the wounded Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip and the delivery of humanitarian aid, the report said.
The World Health Organization has said that as the ceasefire takes hold, more countries must step forward to receive additional patients for specialised treatment. More than 12,000 people are awaiting medical evacuation outside Gaza, where the health system has been shattered by more than 15 months of conflict.