US welcomes arrival of aid to Gaza, urges parties to keep Rafah crossing open

The United States have welcomed the arrival of Egyptian aid trucks in the war-torn Gaza Strip today and urged all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open.

According to a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged “all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement of aid that is critical to the welfare of the people of Gaza.”

Reports say at least 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, passed through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza.

“Hamas must not obstruct the delivery of this life-saving assistance,” Blinken said. “Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamas’s horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts.”

The opening of the supply route came after days of intense negotiations and an agreement reached by US President Joe Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during Biden’s visit to Israel earlier this week.

Saturday’s was the first such delivery since the war broke out two weeks ago between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist militant movement which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people.

According to Israeli officials, Hamas stormed into Israel from Gaza on October 7 and killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated, or burned to death on the first day of the raid.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 4,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli bombardments since then.