UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the Rafah crossing on Friday, CNN reported, citing the office of a UN spokesman.
Guterres’ arrival came as the UN was discussing the conditions for the delivery of humanitarian aid across the Egyptian border into Gaza. A UN spokesperson writes on social media:
“For nearly two weeks, Gaza has gone without any shipments of fuel, food, water and medicine. The UN is focusing all its efforts for a sustained operation to deliver critical humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.”
Guterres told reporters that the large convoy loaded with food and medical supplies was “the difference between life and death for people,” according to UN news reports. The UN chief said:
“We absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as many as necessary but for that there must be a sustained effort. There needed to be trucks entering every day to provide enough support for the Gaza people”.
Guterres called on the world community to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, including supplies and basic services. He wrote on X:
“I am in Egypt on a humanitarian mission and to witness UN preparations to deliver massive support to civilians in Gaza. Humanitarians need to be able to get the aid in – and they need to be able to distribute it safety.”
He added in his next post:
“Civilians in Gaza desperately need core services and supplies. We need rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access. We need food, water medicine and fuel now. We need it at scale and we need it to be sustained”.
According to CNN, several Egyptian Red Crescent and World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying medical supplies, food and specialised nutrition for children arrived at the Rafah crossing on Friday morning. The trucks are currently waiting to enter Gaza on the Egyptian side.
Repair work continues at the Rafah crossing to pave the way for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza. A video published by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights in X (formerly Twitter) shows “repair work and paving of the road between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides” at the Rafah crossing in Gaza, CNN reported. Roads leading into Gaza are being repaired after being hit by bombardments in the past two weeks.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus “further delays will lead to more suffering and deaths” in Gaza.
About 1,400 Israelis were killed in the initial Hamas assault, the bloodiest single day in the state’s 75-year history. At least 3,800 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli strikes. Most of the dead on both sides were civilians.
