Gaza awaits urgent humanitarian aid
GAZA - As the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict enters the 14th day, Ismail Qishta, a resident in Gaza's border town of Rafah, still awaits the humanitarian aid that was promised to arrive days ago.
"Israel destroyed our buildings, killed our beloved ones, and isolated us from the world for two weeks. Every day, we think that it will be our last day," Qishta said
For him, getting the much-anticipated aid also offers a glimmer of hope for an end to the conflict. "Allowing the humanitarian aid means that the world is caring about us, and they are engaged in negotiations between Hamas and Israel," he said.
Zeinab Mousa, a Palestinian woman from the al-Mughazi refugee camp in the center of the coastal enclave expressed similar expectations.
The 49-year-old mother of three said to Xinhua, "We need to touch real efforts on the ground that would provide us with basic needs for living, and help us to end the unprecedented crazy situation in the future."
Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that Egyptian security forces, in preparation for the entry of aid, had removed the cement barriers placed in front of the Rafah border about 10 days ago.
Locals shared some videos showing trucks taking away cement barriers and heavy machinery working to repair the damages in the crossing caused by previous Israeli strikes.
Some 175 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, medical supplies, food, and blankets were lined up near the crossing, waiting for entry into Gaza but were blocked by the Israeli side.
In his visit to the Rafah crossing on Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the large convoy loaded with food and medicine was "the difference between life and death for the (Palestinian) people."
However, the Palestinian sources said those aid could barely cover the basic needs of the Gazans, who need about "450 to 500 trucks of food, medicine, and other necessities daily."
The sources revealed that the parties concerned were still divided on what and how the aid would be delivered, including Israel's demand that the aid not reach Hamas and whether the process would be continuous or a one-off.
On Oct. 9, Israel imposed a full blockade on the Gaza Strip, cutting off its supply of food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity.
The latest round of Hamas-Israel conflict started on Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli military targets and towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip, prompting extensive Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The bloody confrontation has killed more than 5,000 people on both sides and left many others in an acute humanitarian crisis. - XINHUA
