Palestinian Red Crescent Makes Massive Aid Delivery to Northern Gaza, Urgent Needs Persist

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) delivered 61 trucks of humanitarian aid on 25 November, the second day of the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas.

According to a tweet by PRCS, this was the largest single convoy to reach the northern populations of the Gaza Strip since 7 October. The trucks were filled with “food and non-food items, water, primary health care medicines, and emergency medical supplies, from aid that entered through Rafah today as well as from PRCS warehouses in the south.”

“The distribution plan in the North is also set to reach as many beneficiaries of the IDPs as possible, with PRCS teams of staff and volunteers from the North mobilized to facilitate the process,” the tweet reads.

However, PRCS expressed concern that it is not enough as “the needs are enormous,” a sentiment echoed by various aid organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

“Since my first visit two weeks ago, it was evident the humanitarian situation in Gaza has become much, much worse for the people there,” UNRWA chief Phillippe Lazzarini said yesterday in a press conference.

On the same day, 196 aid trucks went through the Rafah crossing, bringing the total number of trucks received by PRCS since 21 October to 1759.

Israel’s continuous bombing campaign, accompanied by a ground invasion, was most intense in the north of Gaza. The Israeli military claims that a Hamas command center exists under Al-Shifa Hospital—which it raided earlier this month—but has so far failed to provide conclusive evidence. Some of the evidence Israel provided appears to be false or manipulated.

THE CONFLICT SO FAR 

After a surprise attack conducted on 7 October by Hamas on a number of southern Israeli towns, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people and more than 220 being taken hostage by Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory bombing campaign against what it describes as ‘terrorist targets’ in the Gaza Strip.

At least 14,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip — including at least 5,500 children — and over 32,000 others injured. Meanwhile, at least 225 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and more than 2,700 injured. The death toll is no longer being regularly updated due to the collapse of the enclave’s health system.

Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on 22 November, announcing a four-day cessation of hostilities to facilitate the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza, 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the entry of humanitarian aid. The truce began on 24 November.

During an event in support of Palestine at Cairo International Stadium, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed that the forced relocation of Palestinians is a “red line” for Egypt, and will not be accepted.

The priority of the Egyptian government since the beginning of the conflict has been deescalation and the securing of a path for aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.