RAFAH, Egypt: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used a visit to Egypt's crossing with the Gaza Strip on Friday to make an emotional appeal for aid trucks to move into the besieged enclave, days after the U.S. raised hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough.
Standing at the Rafah Crossing in the Sinai Peninsula, where more than 200 aid trucks are waiting and much more relief is stockpiled, Guterres described the delay in delivering food, water, medicines and fuel to those in need as heartbreaking.
"These trucks are not just trucks - they are a lifeline, they are the difference between life and death to many people in Gaza," he said, as hundreds of people including truck drivers and aid volunteers chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and waved banners around him.
"To see them stuck here makes me very clear - what we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible."
Rafah has remained shut since shortly after Israel began its bombing of Gaza in retaliation for a deadly assault by the Hamas on Oct. 7, and wrangling over conditions for delivering the aid has prevented its reopening.
Conditions include Israeli demands for a mechanism to inspect the aid, while Western states have been pushing to evacuate foreign passport holders from Gaza.
Guterres, dressed in a dark suit under the desert sun, called for a swift system of verification of the aid shipments.
"We are now actively engaging with all the parties, actively engaging with Egypt, with Israel, with the U.S., in order to make sure that we are able to clarify those conditions, that we are able to limit those restrictions," he said.
Following a trip to Israel on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said agreement had been reached for 20 aid trucks to cross through Rafah. On Friday, he said he believed those first trucks would pass through within 48 hours.
That would only be a fraction of what is required. Before the outbreak of conflict, an average of about 450 aid trucks were arriving there daily. U.N. officials say at least 100 trucks daily are needed to cover urgent needs and that any aid operation must be sustainable at scale.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people depend on humanitarian aid. The coastal enclave has been under a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt since Hamas took control of it in 2007.
"Talking about 20 trucks only is a Zionist-American attempt to throw dust in the eyes, and is misleading to the public opinion about resolving the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Hamas said in a statement.
In Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Gaza was in dire need of water, food, fuel and medical supplies.
DAMAGED ROADS
Rafah is the only crossing with Gaza for goods and people that does not border Israel. Roads at the crossing and leading into Gaza are being repaired after being hit by bombardments in the past two weeks.
During previous conflicts, aid had been delivered to Gaza during humanitarian pauses through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel.
But Israel has said it will allow no aid to enter from its territory until Hamas releases the hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack, and that aid can enter through Egypt as long as it does not end up in the hands of Hamas.
Guterres said humanitarian access should never be made into a "bargaining chip", and should be treated separately to the evacuation of foreigners and release of hostages.
Egypt said it was not responsible for the closure of the crossing, blaming it on Israel. Cairo has also spoken out against any mass displacement of Gazans into Sinai, reflecting Arab fears that Palestinians could again flee or be forced from their homes en masse, as they were during the war surrounding Israel's creation.
A further concern for Cairo is security in northeastern Sinai, where it faced an Islamist insurgency a decade ago, and by the risk of any spillover from Gaza.
About 1,400 Israelis were killed in the initial Hamas assault, the bloodiest single day in the state's 75-year history. At least 3,800 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli strikes. Most of the dead on both sides were civilians.
Reuters
Sat Oct 21 2023
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the media, after visiting the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, as Egyptian Red Crescent members coordinate aid for Gaza,at Al Arish Airport, Egypt, Oct 20 2023-Reuters
Iraq luluskan RUU anti-LGBTQ
PARLIMEN Iraq pada Sabtu meluluskan rang undang-undang (RUU) yang menjenayahkan hubungan sejenis.
Rumah terbuka Persatuan Komuniti Bugis Sabah meriah
Keunikan pakaian suku kaum Bugis dan kepelbagaian juadah menjadi tarikan utama rumah terbuka Persatuan Kaum Bugis Sabah.
Perayaan masa terbaik pupuk persaudaraan - Hajiji
Datul Seri Hajiji Noor menyifatkan perayaan yang ada di negara ini sebagai medan terbaik memupuk tali persaudaraan dalam kalangan rakyat pelbagai kaum dan agama.
Konsert jelajah terakhir Kitaro bakal tarik ramai pengunjung
Konsert jelajah Kitaro di Rainforest World Music Festival 2024 bakal jadi yang terakhir buat Kitaro yang memasuki usia 71 tahun, Februari lalu.
Abang Jo setuju cadangan syarat untuk pemohon PR di Sarawak
Dalam perkembangan lain Abang Johari bersetuju dengan cadangan untuk menetapkan syarat bagi komuniti peniaga dan pelabur yang mahu mendapatkan status Penduduk Tetap (PR) di Sarawak perlu memasukkan minimum dua juta ringgit ke dalam akaun deposit tetap negeri ataupun membeli hartanah bernilai 1.5 juta ke atas.
Kes denggi di Kedah membimbangkan, catat 1,550 kes pada ME16
Kes denggi di Kedah berada pada tahap membimbangkan apabila sejumlah 1,550 kes dilaporkan pada Minggu Epidemiologi ke-16 tahun ini.
Kerajaan Sarawak tidak paksa penduduk pedalaman terima projek empangan Melata
Abang Johari berharap penduduk pedalaman Sarawak agar membuka minda dengan melihat kepada manfaat projek empangan melata yang penting bagi menghasilkan tenaga boleh diperbaharui di kawasan merfeka.
Sarawak akan jana tenaga hijau seratus peratus hijau
Premier Sarawak Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg akan berbincang dengan SEB bagi membolehkan dua loji tenaga arang batu miliknya ditukar kepada loji bersumberkan biomass.
RM9 bilion KPS ganti paip lama seluruh negara
Kos diperlukan bagi menggantikan paip-paip lama seluruh negara mencecah sembilan bilion ringgit.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof yang juga Menteri Peralihan Tenaga Dan Transformasi Air (PETRA) berkata, kebocoran paip jadi penyumbang besar kepada Air Tidak Terhasil (NRW) iaitu 40 peratus daripada penghasilan air bersih.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof yang juga Menteri Peralihan Tenaga Dan Transformasi Air (PETRA) berkata, kebocoran paip jadi penyumbang besar kepada Air Tidak Terhasil (NRW) iaitu 40 peratus daripada penghasilan air bersih.
Kerajaan Sarawak tanggung kos pelajaran anak mendiang Joanna
Abang Johari memaklumkan nama dua anak mendiang Joanna akan didaftarkan di yayasan sarawak`bagi mendapat sokongan pendidikan.
Ebit Liew masuk Gaza hari ini, serah dua treler ubat dan keperluan asas kepada rakyat Palestin
Ebit Lew mengakui air matanya tidak dapat dibendung lagi usia mengaminkan doa sejurus bantuan disampaikan.
Konflik di Gaza: Angka korban rakyat Palestin meningkat kepada 30
Serangan udara oleh Israel berterusan manakala Hamas membalas dengan menembak roket ke Tel Aviv.
Bandar hilang berusia 3,000 tahun ditemui di Mesir
Kawasan yang ditemui menerusi satu misi arkeologi itu lengkap dengan tinggalan struktur rumah yang diperbuat daripada tanah liat, serta artifak-artifak bersejarah dan alatan dari zaman firaun.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita dalam negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini, Ahad, 2 Ogos 2020.
COVID-19: Rayuan kecualikan caj kuarantin pelajar Malaysia dari Yaman - YPC
Muhyiddin dirayu agar segera campur tangan mengatasi masalah caj kuarantin yang difahamkan dikenakan sebanyak RM1,890 ke atas pelajar Malaysia yang baru pulang dari Yaman pada pagi Ahad.
131 rakyat Malaysia terkandas di Yaman tiba di tanah air - Wisma Putra
Kumpulan pertama rakyat Malaysia seramai 131 orang yang dilaporkan terkandas di Yaman sejak Mac lepas susulan pandemik COVID-19, selamat tiba di KLIA pada pagi Ahad.
Pelakon 'Twilight' meninggal dunia
Mendiang Boyce dijumpai bersama mayat teman wanitanya Natalie Adepoju, 27, di Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sampai berdarah hidung mahu jumpa Mo Salah
Dalam kekecohan itu, dia terlanggar tiang lampu lalu rebah terbaring dalam keadaan tidak sedar.
Laungan 'Laillahaillallah, As-Syahid Habibullah' iringi jenazah Dr Fadi
Laungan -Laillahaillallah, as-Syahid Habibullah- berkumandang di Surau Medan Idaman, Setapak, tatkala jenazah Imam Dr Fadi Al-Batsh dibawa masuk ke perkarangan surau itu.
Lebih 1,000 lagi pelajar dibawa pulang sebelum Jumaat
Seramai 1,328 pelajar selamat dihantar pulang menerusi Ops Piramid 2 setakat hari ini.