4:19 p.m. ET, October 22, 2023
At least 14 humanitarian aid trucks enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing
From CNN's Kareem Khadder and Eyad Kourdi
A CNN journalist observed at least 14 humanitarian relief trucks, sponsored by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the United Nations, entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the
Rafah crossing on Sunday late evening local time.
An official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza confirmed to CNN that the trucks had been admitted, and were being offloaded to vehicles that will take the goods to Gaza storage facilities of the UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.
Photos from the Palestinian Crossing Authority showed the second set of trucks getting loaded up on the Palestinian side of the crossing to complete the journey to the UNRWA site.
A short statement by Wael Abu Omar, head of public relations at the Palestinian Crossing Authority, said the trucks carried food and medicine for Gaza.
Some background: The news comes a day after a
convoy of 20 Egyptian trucks unloaded humanitarian aid in Gaza after using the same crossing, which was briefly opened Saturday, according to a CNN stringer on the ground.
The critical Rafah crossing with Egypt in the south has been touted as the last hope
for Gazans to escape as Israel’s bombs rain down, and many Palestinians have begun moving in its direction in anticipation. So far, however, the opening has only been opened for aid — not evacuees.
Meanwhile, aid workers in Gaza, which is under a "complete siege" by Israel and running critically low on basic resources, said this weekend's deliveries were a help, but only barely started to address needs across the densely populated strip.