Confusion over further aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip
Published: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 17:00
Updated At: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 17:04
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There were contradictory reports on Friday regarding the delivery of urgently needed aid supplies for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, 144 trucks were authorized to travel from Egypt to the Gaza Strip on Thursday. However, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) on Friday afternoon, no aid arrived. The organization had to suspend its operations due to a lack of fuel and the breakdown of communication networks, the relief agency explained. The UN emergency aid office OCHA specified on Friday afternoon that no aid deliveries had reached the Gaza Strip by 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The Israeli Cogat authority, which is responsible for contacts with the Palestinians, announced on Thursday evening on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that 144 trucks had brought food, water and medicines from Egypt across the border.
The contradictory information provided by the parties involved could not be conclusively resolved until early Friday afternoon following inquiries to Cogat, OCHA in Geneva and the Egyptian authorities. It is possible that the 144 trucks were able to enter the transit area of the border crossing and were therefore in the no-man's land between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
According to the UN, 100 truckloads are needed every day to supply the approximately 2.2 million people in the sealed-off coastal area with the essentials. Before the war began, an average of 500 trucks came into the Gaza Strip every day during the week, according to the UN emergency aid office OCHA.
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