United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres traveled to Rafah, on Egypt's border with Gaza, on Friday (October 20) to urge Israel and Egypt to expedite the opening of the Rafah Crossing, saying that the aid trucks that were stuck on the Egyptian side were the "difference between life and death to many people."
The plea came as the strip has been facing constant bombardment and a blockade by Israel in retaliation for Hamas's cross-border attack in its southern region that killed over 4,000 people and saw at least 200 hostages taken into Gaza
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Guterres: Get the Trucks Moving In
Guterres stressed that the aid trucks that were stuck at the Rafah Crossing should be sent in as soon as possible.
"These trucks are not just trucks - they are a lifeline, they are the difference between life and death to many people in Gaza," he said. "To see them stuck here makes me very clear - what we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible."
One of the factors that hindered the trucks from entering Gaza, in which Israel only allowed 20 in an agreement with US President Joe Biden, was the condition of the roads into Gaza as Israeli airstrikes have damaged them in the past few days.
However, Israeli officials said on Friday that the status of aid into Gaza through Egypt was still to be determined, The Independent reported.
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