RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Aid trucks began arriving in Gaza’s Rafah area on Sunday as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect after a nearly three-hour delay. Armed men stood guard near the road as the long-awaited humanitarian relief began to flow into the war-torn region.
Approximately 200 aid trucks, including 20 carrying fuel, entered the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, which serves as a key entry point into Gaza, according to two Egyptian sources cited by Reuters. The trucks are expected to reach Gaza once maintenance work at the Rafah border crossing, which connects southern Gaza to Egypt, is completed.
The ceasefire, which started Sunday morning, marks a pause in a 15-month war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and reshaped the political landscape of the Middle East.
Humanitarian organizations have long called for unrestricted aid access to Gaza, where the prolonged conflict has created severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies. The arrival of aid trucks offers a glimmer of relief for the region’s 2.4 million residents, who have endured unprecedented hardship since the conflict began.
