After days of diplomatic wrangling, 20 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies crossed into Gaza on Saturday, providing a ray of hope for the more than two million residents of the enclave, whose living conditions the United Nations called “catastrophic.”
The first of what U.N. officials described as a trickle of aid, a respite in Israel’s blanket siege of the enclave imposed after the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, came after intense negotiations, including during President Biden’s visit to Israel last week.
But the deal allowed the passage of only a fraction of the long line of trucks waiting to carry 3,000 tons of aid from Egypt into Gaza. Negotiations for future shipments were continuing, and it was unclear when more aid would be allowed in.
“The supplies currently heading into Gaza will barely begin to address the escalating health needs as hostilities continue to grow,” the World Health Organization, which supplied trauma kits as part of the convoy, said in a statement on Saturday. “Much more is needed.”
The shipment was delayed for days out of Israeli concerns that it might be used to funnel weapons and munitions to Hamas. It did not include the fuel that the United Nations says is needed to run medical facilities and water desalination plants. The Israeli military is blocking fuel from the territory because it fears it will be used by Hamas for military purposes.
Seven hospitals and 25 health care clinics are out of service because they ran out of fuel, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, operated by Hamas.
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