Since a six-week ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas came into force on Sunday, more and more aid has been arriving in the Gaza Strip, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
On Thursday alone, 653 trucks traveled to the Gaza Strip through the Erez and Zikim border crossings in the north of the area and the Kerem Shalom border crossing in the south, OCHA said, citing Israeli authorities and sponsors of the ceasefire agreement. -fire.
According to UN figures, around 500 trucks a day were delivering goods and aid to the Gaza Strip before the war started in October 2023.
Volunteers and helpers were now reaching areas that were difficult to access before, OCHA said, adding that working conditions had improved significantly. Aid organizations have been able to greatly expand the provision of life-saving aid and services.
Most of the aid delivered to the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire came into effect is food. However, further shipments of medicine, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene items are expected in the coming days.
The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when militants led by Hamas came out of the coastal territory and killed around 1,200 people in the communities of southern Israel.
Israel responded with a massive bombardment of Gaza, leaving much of the land in ruins, and also launched a ground offensive with the goal of completely eliminating Hamas.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to Palestinian estimates.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect on Sunday after months of stalled talks.
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement provides for a rapid increase in the delivery of aid for more than 2 million Gazans, 90% of whom are affected by hunger, according to UN figures.
The delivery of aid to Gaza has been difficult both because of Israel's security concerns and its detailed inspection of goods and because of the looting of aid trucks by armed groups.
