First foreign medical team, convoy of 10 trucks enter Gaza from Egypt
Cairo/Rafah, Oct 27 (EFE).- A team of 10 foreign Red Cross doctors entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing on Friday, Palestinian officials said.
A further 10 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, but without much-needed fuel, were also allowed through.
Convoys with medical and food supplies have been entering in recent days after being blocked for days until earlier this week.
Some 84 trucks have now entered in six separate batches since Israel allowed the entry of humanitarian supplies on Saturday.
The spokesman for the Palestinian side of the border crossing, Wael Abu Omar, said in a statement that a “medical delegation composed of ten foreign doctors” entered the Strip through Rafah along with 10 other trucks loaded with water, food and medicine.
Sources on the Egyptian side of Rafah told EFE that the team of doctors belongs to the Red Cross, which has been managing the entry of aid through the crossing. The organization did not specify the doctors’ nationality.
Red Cross officials also confirmed that the new shipments of humanitarian aid does not include fuel, which is vital to power hospitals, desalination plants and other essential services.
Israeli authorities have blocked fuel supplies into Gaza over fears that Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the Strip, will use them militarily against Israel.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, Lynn Hastings, said Friday in a press conference from Jerusalem that the emergency generators that feed many essential services were being turned off due to lack of fuel.”
However, she added that a limited amount of fuel is being able to enter Gaza through a pumping station paid for by Qatar and brought to Rafah with Israel’s knowledge. EFE
The conflict between Israel and Hamas began with a surprise attack Oct. 7 by the Islamist group on Israeli soil that left more than 1,400 dead. More than 200 hostages were also taken to Gaza.
The Israeli army has been bombing the Strip daily ever since in retaliation, causing more than 7,000 deaths and over 18,400 injured in the Palestinian enclave.
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