On Saturday morning, live images showed that trucks with emergency aid entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt, via the Rafah crossing.
Since the war broke out two weeks ago, no one has been allowed out of or into Gaza.
In a statement, Hamas states that there will be 20 trucks, which are carrying medicines, medical equipment and a limited amount of food.
– This will not change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza, says Hamas, according to Reuters.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, the emergency aid will only go to the southern areas of Gaza, writes Reuters. Fuel is not included in the deliveries, according to the IDF.
On Friday last week, the IDF urged the inhabitants of the north of Gaza to travel south “for their own safety”. According to the IDF, so far around 700,000 have traveled from north to south.
Will be closed again
According to a stringer for CNNwhich is present on the Egyptian side of the border, the border crossing must have been closed again after the trucks had passed.
The aid that came in on Saturday is supposed to be from the Red Crescent in Egypt. A spokesperson for the UN says to CNN that it is expected that their trucks will be able to enter Gaza on Monday.
The World Health Organization states that they have four trucks with medical equipment at the border. These include, among other things, emergency medical equipment for the treatment of 1,200 people, as well as equipment for treatment “on the spot”.
On X/Twitter Secretary-General Tedros Ghebreyesus writes that the equipment has crossed the border.
Increases support
– It gives hope that a first convoy of emergency aid has now entered Gaza. But it is urgent to get more food, water and medicine in. The situation in Gaza is about to develop into a humanitarian disaster, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
At the same time, he says that Norway is now increasing its support to the United Nations Organization for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by NOK 60 million. The new contribution comes in addition to NOK 300 million that Norway gave to UNRWA earlier this year.
Barth Eide is in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday, where he is participating in the summit where leaders from the Middle East and several other countries have gathered to discuss the serious development and acute crisis in Gaza.
– It has clicked for him!
– Conflicting messages
The American Embassy in Israel reported earlier on Saturday that they had received information that it might be possible for foreign nationals to leave Gaza on Saturday.
– There continue to be conflicting messages about the Rafah border crossing being opened today, writes press spokesperson Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde in an SMS to Dagbladet.
POSSIBLE OPENING: The border crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been closed since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out two weeks ago. On Saturday, it is possible that the border will open for foreign citizens to leave Gaza. On Saturday morning, so far only emergency aid has been allowed in. Photo: Mohammed Abed / AFP / NTB Show more
She goes on to say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to follow the situation closely.
– We will inform Norwegian citizens directly as soon as we know whether the border will be opened for departure.
To TV 2 Foreign Minister Barth Eide said earlier Saturday that he relied on the same information as the American embassy.
– We can only hope that it happens. It is the same thing we hear here in Cairo. It is important to understand that this involves several people, this must be accepted by Egypt, Israel and those who actually rule inside Gaza, Barth Eide told the channel.
Norwegian-Palestinian Zaki: – Expects to die
– Very worried
Barth Eide has previously stated that there are around 200 Norwegian citizens in the Gaza Strip. Over 100 of them are children, he says.
– We are very worried about how they are doing. There are no safe places in Gaza, says the foreign minister to Dagbladet.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells Dagbladet that they do not know whether Norwegian citizens have been injured or killed in Gaza.
A team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in place in Egypt, and is ready to receive Norwegian citizens, if they make it across the border.
– All our foreign missions in the region are operational with Norwegian diplomats at full work, in a demanding situation. We have sent an emergency team to Cairo, including a doctor, who will be ready to help when and if Norwegian citizens come out of Gaza to Egypt. We are also present in Cyprus, like a number of other European countries, says Barth Eide.
2023-10-21 09:50:43
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