Today's Edition
AHMED ATEF (CAIRO)
Dr. Khaled Zayed, Director of the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai, revealed that the total aid that has so far arrived in the city of Al-Arish (northern Egypt) has reached 25 planes loaded with tonnes of food and medical supplies. At the forefront is a plane provided by the United Arab Emirates with a payload of more than 13 and a half tonnes of aid.
Dr. Zayed told Aletihad that there is a high level of coordination between the Egyptian and Emirati Red Crescents, especially since the aid planes provided by the World Food Programme (WPF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and UNICEF have arrived from the UAE, indicating the significant role the country plays in humanitarian aid and international coordination in such matters.
The Egyptian Red Crescent is currently collecting relief aid from countries and institutions that assist these efforts and, in turn, coordinates with the Palestine Red Crescent to obtain their necessary requirements. Regarding the aid that had arrived in the southern Gaza Strip over the past few days, Dr. Zayed confirmed the arrival of 20 trucks, including more than 200 tonnes of medicine, food, and medical supplies.
He noted the readiness for other trucks to cross in the coming days. Dr. Zayed pointed out that the current needs of the Palestinians are based on two aspects: medical supplies and equipment as many hospitals in Gaza are out of service, as well as dry foodstuff such as infant formula, as the sector faces fuel shortages.
He added that the journey of bringing aid, starting from Al-Arish Airport and unloading it from the planes to the trucks and then to the Rafah land crossing, is then stored inside Palestine in UNRWA warehouses and distributed under UN supervision.
Dr. Zayed confirmed that over 600 young volunteers from North Sinai have worked over 50,000 hours to bring in aid and relief materials.
Egyptian media reported on Monday that a new batch of aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Cairo News Channel reported on Monday that this batch is the third batch and includes medical and food materials, noting that a large number of trucks were prepared before entering.
Aid convoys began entering the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian Rafah land crossing last Saturday. The Palestinian authorities warned of a humanitarian "catastrophe" due to the comprehensive closure imposed on the sector. They explained that the aid convoys that have reached the Gaza Strip so far are not enough to meet the needs of the Gaza Strip residents, which used to receive more than 500 trucks loaded with various supplies daily.
