• Hospitals at risk of closure as no fuel supplies included in 20 truckloads
• Blinken urges all parties to keep Rafah crossing open
• Palestinians say aid a mere ‘drop in the ocean’

GAZA: After the overnight killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli bombardment, 20 trucks carrying aid — the first convoy of humanitarian supplies since Israel began a devastating siege 12 days ago — entered Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Saturday.

Meanwhile, UN agencies have called for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access for aid throughout Gaza.

“We call for a humanitarian ceasefire, along with immediate, unrestricted humanitarian acc­ess throughout Gaza to allow hum­anitarian actors to reach civilians in need, save lives and prevent further human suffering,” the joint statement from the UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and WHO said. “Flows of humanitarian aid must be at scale and sustained, and allow all Gazans to preserve their dignity.”

The flatbed trucks, flying white flags and honking their horns, exited the crossing after checks and headed into Gaza’s southern area, which includes the major towns of Rafah and Khan Yunis, where hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by Israel’s unrelenting air war are sheltering.

However, Palestinians appeared disappointed with the item provided, as they did not include essential fuel supplies to power generators and emergency vehicles.

“Excluding the fuel from the humanitarian aid means the lives of patients and injured will remain at risk. Gaza hospitals requirements to pursue medical interventions,” the Gaza health ministry said.

The United Nations said the convoy carrying life-saving supplies would be received and distributed by the Palestinian Red Crescent.

But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while welcoming the opening, echoed a warning from Israel that no aid should end up in Hamas hands. “We urge all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza,” he stated.

“We have been clear: Hamas must not interfere with the provision of this life-saving assistance.”

The Israeli military earlier announced that humanitarian aid entering Gaza would go to southern areas only, making it clear that there is “no fuel going in”.

Meanwhile, Israel kept up heavy bombardment of targets throughout Gaza in Saturday’s early hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “fight until victory”.

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops have deployed to the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground offensive that officials have pledged will begin “soon”.

On Saturday Gaza’s health ministry said Israel’s air and missile strikes had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, while over a million of the besieged territory’s people have been displaced.

Almost half of Gaza’s residents have been displaced, and at least 30pc of all housing in the territory has been destroyed or damaged, the UN says.

‘Drop in the ocean’

Most of Gaza’s inhabitants depend on humanitarian aid. The heavily urbanised and widely impoverished territory has been under Israeli and Egyptian blockade since 2005.

Israel has told all Palestinians to evacuate the northern half of Gaza, which includes Gaza City. Many people have yet to leave, saying they fear losing everything and have nowhere safe to go given that southern areas have also been bombarded.

Some said the aid arriving on Saturday was too little to make a difference. “This is a drop in the ocean. You are trying to show the world that you are bringing aid. This is throwing dust in the eyes,” said Nabil El-Dhaba, a resident of the Shejaia district in Gaza City who has been displaced to Deir Al-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Terrified Palestinians who were forced to evacuate their homes after Israel’s deadly overnight bombings lashed out at the reports of aid trucks about to enter Gaza, saying it was a ceasefire and not food that they needed.

“They were asleep when the missile was dropped on them, innocent children, their father, their grandfather, what did they do? Did they fire rockets? Carried bullets? They are innocent children who did nothing!” cried one tearful woman.

“We have been fighting and the Arab nations are just watching. Canned food, is that the price of the Palestinian people who are offering sacrifices everywhere?”

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2023