According to state-affiliated media Al-Qahera News, aid trucks from Egypt started to enter the Gaza Strip on Sunday through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom gate.
“200 trucks” in total had crossed over to the Kerem Shalom crossing, located about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to the south, from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, which has been closed since Israel seized the Palestinian side of the terminal in early May.
As long as Israeli forces are in charge of the Palestinian side, Egypt has declined to organize humanitarian assistance through Rafah.
However, the White House reported that on Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi consented to permit supplies to enter southern Gaza through Kerem Shalom, during a phone conversation with US counterpart Joe Biden.
Al-Qahera News stated that “four fuel trucks” had already crossed and were on their way to hospitals, but it did not say how many trucks had passed inspection and entered besieged Gaza.
Israeli authorities check all Egyptian aid before it is disbursed through the UN.
The head of the Egyptian Red Crescent in al-Arish, where the majority of relief arrives, Khaled Zayed, told AFP that the last 200 trucks were “expected to cross into Gaza today.”
