AL-ARISH: Hundreds of trucks laden with food and water have been trapped on an Egypt road heated by the sun, some close to two months now, awaiting authorization to distribute humanitarian supplies desperately needed in war-torn Gaza.
50 kilometers from the border with Gaza, there’s a dusty road lined up in both directions with trucks carrying flour and other assistance. They say drivers have been waiting for many weeks at the height of the summer heat in Egypt.
The standstill worsened Gaza’s already terrible humanitarian crisis after nine months of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Aid groups are warning that there is a huge risk of famine across the besieged coastal territory.
Truck drivers, parked on the outskirts of al-Arish city in Sinai Peninsula located in Egypt, claim they haven’t been able to deliver aid since May when Israel widened its offensive on the Gaza-Egypt border.
They said some food had to be thrown away
“Before this load, we used to come here then stand for more than 50 days just for our load to be sent back because it had expired!” exclaimed Elsayed el-Nabawi a truck driver.
“We were forced to go back where we came from after loading another batch; however, who knows if this current one will make it before its expiration date or what else may happen.”
In May, Israeli army began its assault on Rafah which is situated in southern part of Gazan City. The Rafah crossing has remained closed ever since between Egypt and Gaza thus making it impossible for patients’ evacuation as well as aid deliveries thereby making it a lifeline for Gazans towards outside world
Discussions involving US-Israeli-Egyptians also failed to reopen Rafah where Egypt seeks restoration of Palestinian presence on their side within Gazan boundary. Some Israeli flags now hang above destroyed buildings along Gazan frontier with Egypt.
We’ve been stuck here over a month waiting for delivery. We’ve been trying to wait for our turn, but it yet” says Ahmed Kamel, another driver. He and other drivers sat by their trucks drinking tea and smoking.
“We don’t know when we will be able to go in? Today or tomorrow? And the day after tomorrow will be tomorrow. Only God knows. Will this stuff make it through or most of it rot?”
But aid organizations and Western diplomats say the supplies are insufficient at present; some aid has however been brought into Gaza via other land border crossings, air drops as well as by sea. The drivers say they are waiting for permission from Israel.
‘’Obstacles’’
Even before Israel’s attack on Rafah, distributing assistance in Gaza was problematic. There have been restrictions imposed by Israel regarding goods getting into that enclave on claims that they were meant for Hamas. Also, there have been cases where aid convoys got hit during Israeli military attacks which led to death of many relief employees.
There have also been reports that Palestinian gangs within Gaza have tried looting the territory of 2.3m Palestinians where commercial supplies as well as aid are brought in. In several instances desperate Palestinians have even swarmed lorries taking away vital humanitarian supplies.
A senior official from the Israeli foreign ministry said that there is a backlog comprising around 1,200 truckloads of aids worth on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom crossing point created due to accumulated humanitarian aids in Egypt.
There was said to be a disruption in the distribution network inside Gaza established by international organizations, which had been “disrupted” over the past months, because of a Palestinian local criminal gang and Hamas.
The Israeli Defense Forces responsible for aid coordination in the region have revealed that they allow enough food into Gaza from Egypt and Israel to feed all its inhabitants. The IDF has also admitted that relief agencies face ‘challenges’ when moving food after it has crossed through entry points like Israel.
Maha Barakat, an Assistant Minister at the UAE’s Foreign Ministry and a trained physician, reported emaciated Palestinians who were able to go out of Gaza.
UAE is involved in medical evacuations out from Gaza
On a UAE government chartered aircraft headed to al-Arish, she told Reuters: “They are becoming thinner and thinner.” She added that malnutrition makes wounds fail to heal as well.
“It goes beyond war injuries,” she said.
