Humanitarian assistance trucks have begun entering the embattled Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Rafah gate, according to Egyptian media.
According to Hamas’ media office, the relief assistance convoy contained 20 vehicles carrying medicine, medical supplies, and a limited amount of food.
Egyptian state television broadcast footage of vehicles that had been parked for days entering the border crossing region from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Egyptian media previously reported that efforts were being made to open the Rafah crossing to allow trucks providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza to pass through.
Trucks were seen heading towards the crossing in what appeared to be preparation for trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Egypt.
According to the US Embassy in Israel, the Gaza-Egypt border may reopen on Saturday, allowing Westerners to exit the besieged Palestinian territory.
The embassy announced on social media that it has “received info” that the Rafah crossing would open at 10 a.m. (0700GMT).
“We do not know how long it will remain open for foreign citizens to depart Gaza,” it added.
Following the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas militants against villages in southern Israel, Israel blockaded the zone and conducted waves of punitive airstrikes.
Many people in Gaza, who are only eating one meal a day and do not have enough water to drink, are yearning for relief. Hospital personnel were also in desperate need of medical supplies and fuel for generators as they treated a large number of persons injured in the attacks.
Hundreds of foreign passport holders queued to cross the border from Gaza to Egypt in order to flee the bloodshed.
On Saturday, Israel and Palestinian militants exchanged fire after Hamas released an American mother and her teenage daughter, the first of over 200 prisoners released following the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 raid into Israel.
For the past two weeks, Israel has closed off the territory, forcing Palestinians to ration food and sip dirty water from wells. In the midst of a territory-wide blackout, hospitals claim they are running out on medicine and fuel for emergency generators.
On the Gaza side, a line of empty flatbed trucks could be seen moving, maybe in preparation for bringing in urgently needed aid.
The release coincided with mounting expectations of a ground offensive, which Israel claims is intended at eliminating the militant group that has dominated Gaza for 16 years. Israel reiterated on Friday that it does not intend to take long-term control of the 2.3 million-person Palestinian territory.
