A second humanitarian convoy has crossed from Egypt into the Gaza Strip as Israel continues its non-stop bombardment of the besieged enclave, killing 55 people overnight.
A total of 17 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, a day after the first convoy comprising 20 trucks carried medical aid, food and water into the area. The strip has been under intense Israeli bombing since October 7 in the wake of deadly Hamas attack that claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Israelis.
Reporting from Khan Younis in Gaza, journalist Hani Abu Isheba told Al Jazeera that the trucks are said to contain mostly much-needed medical aid.
“Doctors are telling us that the aid is meant for hospitals in the Gaza Strip which are in dire need of medical supplies. No fuel has been reported on these trucks,” he said, adding that hospitals are very concerned about the lack of fuel.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Gaza, Thomas White of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that the visuals of aid trucks on television which appear to look like fuel trucks do contain fuel that UNRWA is moving internally between depots.
“No fuel is coming into Gaza. Fuel is really critical now, we need it coming in to keep aid operations going,” he said.
Aid agencies are also warning that the delivery of supplies should remain consistent since it is currently “only a drop in the ocean”, and cannot cover the immense needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
The humanitarian situation in the densely populated enclave is dire. There is not only a shortage of medical supplies, but food and drinking water are also scarce as Israel has cut off electricity, fuel and water supplies in the wake of the deadliest attacks in decades.
Source: Aljazeera.com
