The United States celebrated on Saturday the arrival of humanitarian aid trucks from Egypt to the Strip Gaza destroyed in the war between Israel and Hamas and urged all parties to the conflict to keep the Rafah border open.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged “all parties to keep the Rafah border crossing open to allow for the continuous delivery of aid necessary for the welfare of the population of Gaza” according to a statement.
AFP reporters confirmed on Saturday that 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent which manages the delivery of aid from various UN agencies, went through the Rafah border crossing, from Egypt to Gaza.
“We are clear: Hamas should not interfere in providing this life-saving aid,” Blinken said.
“Palestinian civilians are not responsible for the horrific terrorism of Hamas and should not be made to suffer for their evil deeds.”
The opening of the supply route came after days of intense negotiations and an agreement reached by US President Joe Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi, during Biden’s visit to Israel earlier this week.
Saturday was the first delivery of this kind since the war broke out two weeks ago between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant movement that rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million inhabitants.
- On October 7, Hamas militants invaded Israel from Gaza and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated, or burned alive on the first day of the raid, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, more than 4,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Strip Gaza incessant Israeli bombardment carried out in retaliation, according to the Ministry of Health in this territory controlled by Hamas.
