In North Sinai, hundreds of trucks loaded with international aid supplies are currently stranded, awaiting their turn to deliver crucial necessities such as food, clothing, and medicine to the people in the Gaza Strip. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning about the dire conditions in the area.
On Tuesday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected the Rafah crossing to follow up on aid processes.
“We reject the collective punishment policy that is ongoing on Gaza’s civilians. Since the beginning of this round of conflict, Egypt has been working and moving tirelessly, starting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and all the state’s bodies, including the Civil Affairs Department,” said Madbouly.

Dozens of trucks line up in a standstill, waiting for a brief opening of the Rafah crossing to bring relief supplies to civilians who are getting bombarded on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, the situation so far has dented people’s faith.

“We thought the process will be fast, and that it won’t take us a couple of days to get the aid to Gaza. But we’ve been here for 15 days with little progress. Egypt isn’t holding back any effort,” said Reem Ali, an aid volunteer.

Since the crisis broke out on October 7, only 250 aid trucks have been allowed into Gaza. That’s about 10 trucks daily on average. Egypt holds Israel responsible for this slow flow of aid.

There are two sides for the Rafah crossing. All trucks passing through the Egyptian side get inspected by the Israeli authorities before they can access Gaza.

“What has been stopping you (from entering Gaza) is not the Egyptian authorities. The Egyptian government, right now, is just standing one meter away from the border. However, we don’t get any guarantees from the occupation’s military for the safety (of journalists). No one will ensure your safety when you enter Gaza,” said Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the Egyptian State Information Service.

On Tuesday, 60 trucks managed to cross Rafah into Gaza, which is the biggest number yet since the crisis broke out, but it’s far from enough. The Egyptian authorities say at least 500 trucks must enter on a daily basis to fulfill the basic needs for the Palestinians.