CAIRO. Israel is set to allow around 200 aid trucks into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, bypassing the main Rafah entry point, which has been closed for weeks. This development comes after an agreement between U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to temporarily redirect aid through Kerem Shalom.
Khaled Zayed, an Egyptian Red Crescent official, confirmed to Reuters that the aid convoy, including four fuel trucks, is expected to enter Gaza on Sunday. A video shared by Egypt’s Al Qahera News TV showed the aid trucks entering Kerem Shalom, which historically served as the primary commercial crossing between Israel, Egypt, and Gaza before the current conflict escalated.
Israel faces increasing pressure to facilitate more aid deliveries to Gaza, where over seven months of warfare have led to widespread destruction and severe hunger. The Rafah crossing, the main entry for humanitarian aid, has been closed for nearly three weeks since Israel took control of the Palestinian side on May 6 during its intensified military operations in the area.
Egypt has resisted reopening its side of Rafah, fearing a large influx of Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, Israel claims it is not restricting aid flow and has opened new crossing points in the north. Additionally, the United States has constructed a temporary floating pier off Gaza’s central coast to expedite the distribution of supplies.
Despite an order from the International Court of Justice on Friday to cease attacks in Rafah, Israeli operations have persisted. On Sunday, Israeli strikes in Rafah resulted in the deaths of at least five Palestinians, according to local medical sources. Israeli tanks have also been active around the city’s edges, close to the southern crossing point into Egypt.
Israel’s offensive aims to eliminate Hamas fighters and rescue hostages, but the assault has exacerbated the civilian crisis and provoked international condemnation. Gaza’s health ministry reports that nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began. The offensive was launched in response to an attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israeli communities on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 250 hostages taken.
Ceasefire Prospects
In northern Gaza’s Jabaliya area, intense fighting continued on Sunday. Despite Hamas’s claims of abducting an Israeli soldier, the Israeli military has denied these statements.
Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and secure the release of more than 100 hostages held in Gaza have stalled. However, recent meetings between Israeli and U.S. intelligence officials and Qatar’s prime minister suggest potential progress. An informed official indicated that talks might resume this week based on new proposals from Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with significant U.S. involvement. Nonetheless, Hamas has not confirmed these developments.
Izzat El-Reshiq, a senior Hamas official, reiterated that no new dates for talks had been communicated. He emphasized Hamas’s demands for a complete and permanent cessation of aggression across the entire Gaza Strip as a prerequisite for any negotiations.
While Israel seeks the return of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that the conflict will continue until Hamas is fully dismantled.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
