At least 129 aid trucks crossed into Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah border crossing this morning, heading toward the Israeli-controlled Karm Abu Salem checkpoint, a source on the scene told Al Manassa.
This shipment included 50 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, 54 from the UN, and 25 from the UAE, carrying food supplies, water tanks, and pipeline materials.
This aid flow follows an announcement by Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee this morning, who declared a “tactical pause” in fighting, citing humanitarian reasons. The daily pause, from 10 am to 8 pm until further notice, covers areas including Al-Mawasi, Deir Al-Balah, and Gaza City.
He added that the occupation army has also established secure corridors, operational between 6 am and 11 am, to allow aid convoys to travel safely within Gaza and deliver food and medicine.
The humanitarian crisis continues to deepen with a tragic rise in hunger-related deaths. On Saturday, the Gaza Health Ministry announced that the number of deaths caused by hunger and malnutrition had risen to 127, including 85 children, after hospitals in the Strip recorded five new fatalities in the past 24 hours.
These deliveries represent the latest in a series of extremely limited humanitarian efforts to reach Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli siege. Between Wednesday morning and early Thursday, 166 trucks entered through the Israeli-controlled Zikim and Karm Abu Salem crossings as a part of an EU-brokered deal with the Israeli government, signed on July 10, marking the first such access since March 18.
Despite sporadic entries, vast amounts of aid remain blocked. A source at an international organization operating inside Gaza told Al Manassa that dozens of Egyptian aid trucks sent last Thursday via the Rafah border crossing are still being held by the Israeli military.
Hundreds of trucks, they said, remain stalled at the Karm Abu Salem crossing and the Zikim checkpoint, with only a limited number allowed to enter each day.
With ground aid largely obstructed, desperate attempts to deliver supplies by air have become a perilous alternative. On Saturday evening, Israeli aircraft dropped around 10 boxes of food aid over the Al-Sudaniya area northwest of Gaza City, according to a witness who spoke to Al Manassa.
According to a journalist on the scene, one of the crates struck a tent sheltering displaced people, damaging the structure and injuring sleeping children. This incident was the first reported airdrop since Israel halted such deliveries at the end of last year, as part of policies limiting and regulating humanitarian access to the enclave.
The dire situation stems from a broken ceasefire agreement, announced in January, which Israel refused to implement. The deal was expected to last until the end of its offensive on Gaza. Instead, the occupation army resumed its military campaign on March 18, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, and simultaneously blocked humanitarian aid from entering the territory.
According to data reviewed by Al Manassa, a mere 37,412 aid trucks, 28,584 tons of gas, 60,345 liters of diesel, and 1,266 liters of gasoline had entered Gaza through Rafah before the suspension of aid flows.
Despite this suspension, the Egyptian government operates logistical hubs near Al-Arish International Airport and close to the Rafah crossing, coordinated by the Egyptian Red Crescent.
A spokesperson for the organization told Al Manassa that staff remain on high alert to prepare aid trucks before they are dispatched, ready to deliver desperately needed assistance at any opportunity.
