Some Gaza border crossings re-open to aid trucks, but problems continue – UN

More than 70 trucks were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip from Israel yesterday, but aid supplies inside Gaza are still dwindling, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reported today.

UNSCO said the trucks entered Gaza through the Karni and Sufa crossings, and Israeli authorities informed the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at 11 p.m. yesterday that they could bring in trucks through the Kerem Shalom crossing today.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that while WFP only had time to prepare one truck for transport, UNRWA managed to have 12 trucks containing milk and rice ready to go.

But when those trucks arrived at Kerem Shalom this morning, the crossing was closed and all 13 trucks had to return to the town of Ashdod. Returning the trucks costs UNRWA more than $8,000.

UNSCO also reports that fuel supplies continue to go through to Gaza as planned, although electricity cuts are ongoing and about 40 per cent of the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians living in Gaza do not have regular access to water.