On Tuesday morning, the 13th Egyptian humanitarian aid convoy departed from the Rafah land port on the Egyptian side, carrying thousands of tons of urgent food and relief supplies to Gaza. The convoy includes food baskets, flour, legumes, canned meals, medical supplies, personal care items, baby milk, water, and more. This comes as part of Egypt’s efforts to provide food support and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation forces have closed the crossings linking Gaza since March 2, following the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement without reaching a deal to stabilize the truce. They violated the ceasefire with heavy airstrikes on March 18 and re-infiltrated various areas in Gaza from which they had withdrawn.

The occupation authorities also prevented the entry of humanitarian aid trucks, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced people who lost their homes due to the war on Gaza, and refused to allow heavy equipment needed to remove rubble and rebuild Gaza. In May, the occupation authorities allowed limited amounts of aid that did not meet the minimum needs of the population through a mechanism implemented in cooperation with an American security company, despite rejection by UN organizations, other relief agencies, and UNRWA due to its violation of established international mechanisms.