Egypt has planned to boost the amount of truckloads of humanitarian goods entering Gaza through the Rafah border to 300 per day starting Sunday, according to an official.
The action comes six months after Israel launched its devastating attack on the enclave, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians.
Diaa Rashwan, the chief of the Egyptian Information Service, said in a statement that his country has chosen to boost the number of humanitarian assistance trucks providing food, medical supplies, and everyday essentials in compliance with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s orders.
Rashwan could not specify if all of the help is Egyptian or from other nations and companies, or how many trucks are presently entering Gaza through Rafah.
He said that 322 relief trucks have entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 11.
According to Rashwan, the number of trucks entering Gaza through Rafah since the conflict began on October 7, 2023 has reached 19,354, bringing 19,952 tons of medical supplies and 23,453 tons of food.
He said that the trucks transported 10,435 tons of gasoline, 26,692 tons of water, and 44,103 tons of other relief supplies, as well as 123 prepared ambulances.
Rashwan said that 3,764 injured and sick patients entered Egypt from the Gaza Strip for treatment, together with 6,191 companions, 66,759 foreign and dual nationalities, and 6,330 Egyptians.
Israel has launched a devastating military incursion in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border raid by the Palestinian group Hamas in early October, which killed over 1,200 people.
Since then, about 33,200 Palestinians have been murdered and nearly 75,900 wounded as a result of widespread damage and a lack of basic requirements.
Israel has also enforced a punishing siege on the Gaza Strip, pushing its citizens, particularly those in northern Gaza, to the brink of hunger.
According to the UN, the Israeli attack has forced 85% of Gaza’s inhabitants into internal displacement, resulting in acute food, clean water, and medical shortages, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has accused Israel of genocide and recently urged it to do more to avert hunger in Gaza.