Rafah Crossing Remains Gaza’s Lifeline under War, Blockade
(AWP) - A Palestinian woman carrying Egyptian nationality, exiting Gaza on Thursday, described the amount of aid entering the Strip as a “drop in the ocean” compared to what Palestinians need.
Mona Zo’rob and her daughter waited on the Palestinian side of the crossing before they were finally able to leave after 76 days of the Israeli war, which has caused the displacement of the majority of Gaza’s inhabitants.
Although there are border crossings between Gaza and Israel, which were open to personnel, goods and fuel prior to the 2007 imposition of the Israeli blockade on the Strip, the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains a vital lifeline.
As Israel refuses to allow Palestinians to travel by air or sea from Gaza, road travel remains the only way to enter or exit the strip.
After the Israeli war erupted on the strip on October 7, attention was focused on the Rafah crossing as a main outlet for the delivery of aid trucks.
The crossing has also acted as a window of hope for humanitarian cases of wounded and sick Palestinians from Gaza, as hundreds have exited the strip during the war, which has raged for more than two and a half months.
Although the Palestinian side of the crossing has come under Israeli shelling more than once, the Egyptian authorities repaired it so that it could receive aid trucks.
On the Egyptian side, ambulances stand by to carry the wounded. The Egyptian authorities said they had received 926 wounded Palestinians, escorted by 780 people, until Wednesday.
According to the Egyptian authorities’ statistics, the total volume of aid that crossed from the Egyptian side into Gaza Strip exceeded 60,000 tons during the period between October 21 and December 20, including aid carried by 358 airplanes to Al-Arish Airport.
Statistics show that 70% of the aid is Egyptian, while the remaining volume of aid has come from dozens of Arab and non-Arab countries.
The Egyptian side also announced that it had received 17,000 foreigners and dual nationals, including 2,764 carrying Egyptian nationality.