Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has given approval to open a border crossing into Gaza to allow 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid.
President Joe Biden, who disclosed this after his visit to Israel on Wednesday, stated that he had discussions with President El-Sisi, and the Egyptian leadership agreed to permit the entry of aid.
However, the condition of the roads near the crossing, damaged by Israeli airstrikes, needs to be repaired before the trucks can pass.
This repair work is expected to be carried out over eight hours on Thursday, with the first aid deliveries scheduled for Friday.
Following the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel had sealed off the Gaza Strip, preventing the entry of essential supplies like food, water, medicine, and fuel to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.
The impact of this initial aid delivery on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains uncertain, as the World Health Organization (WHO) has described the situation as spiraling out of control and affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
Regional WHO representative Richard Brennan on Thursday expressed hope that the aid deal would not be a non-starter but acknowledged the complexities in launching this aid operation.
He emphasized that this is just the beginning of a long process, likening it to a marathon.
“The goal is to eventually have up to 100 trucks of aid distributed per day”, he added.
President Biden clarified that the border crossing would be open for aid but not for evacuations, leaving the fate of 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza, including foreign nationals and dual citizens, uncertain in terms of leaving the region.