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On Saturday morning, at 10 AM Beirut time, the Rafah crossing was opened to allow the passage of 20 aid trucks from Egypt into Gaza.
The passageway closed two hours later, having allowed aid to enter the area, which included medical supplies, medicine, water, and food, but no fuel.
According to Egyptian officials, 200 aid trucks had been waiting at the crossing to enter Gaza but were blocked due to Israeli bombings and ongoing negotiations between Egyptian, Israeli, and American authorities.
Nevertheless, several aid groups and the UN have described this initiative as “a drop in the ocean” in terms of what Gazans currently need.
UN Aid Chief Martin Griffiths told CNN in an interview, “We need to start with a serious number of trucks going in, and we need to build up to 100 trucks a day, which used to be the case of the aid program going into Gaza before the war.”
What is the Rafah crossing?
Gaza has only three points of passageway, two of which border with Israeli territories: Erez, a crossing for people in northern Gaza, and Kerem Shalom, a solely commercial goods junction in southern Gaza. Both were closed when the conflict began on October 7, leaving Rafah as Gaza’s only link to the outside world.
Rafah marks the border between Gaza and Egypt’s northern Sinai region. Formerly controlled by Egypt from 1948 until 1967, it fell under Israeli control up until 2005, when Israel formally withdrew all its troops and settlers from Gaza.
From 2005 until Hamas’ election in 2007, the crossing was controlled by the European Union, which worked closely with Egyptian authorities.
As of 2007, it is controlled by both Egyptian and Palestinian authorities, making it Gaza’s only entryway that Israel doesn’t control.
Despite this fact, Israel and Egypt have still enforced a siege on Gaza as a response to Hamas’ control, forcing Gazans to rely heavily on international aid. According to past reports, up to 450 aid trucks could arrive in Gaza daily.
Egypt’s reluctance to fully open the crossing is a response to a 2008 militant bombing at the borders. Furthermore, northern Sinai is a territory that has long seen conflict between Islamist militias and Egyptian troops and residents.
This has resulted in Egypt rendering people’s movement through Rafah (on normal days) extremely limited, dedicating it only to the passage of foreign nationals and Gazans who have received both Hamas and Egyptian authorization. Reports say that the process could often last up to three months.
Rafah’s opening
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stated this week that “the Rafah crossing on our side is officially open. However, Israeli air strikes targeting the Gaza side of the crossing have rendered it inaccessible.”
Aid was reportedly able to enter Gaza through Rafah from October 7, when the conflict began, until October 10, when an Israeli airstrike blocked its way.
Egyptian officials have reported four Israeli strikes on Rafah since October 7, including on October 9 and 10.
As the conflict worsened and the death toll in Gaza reached 4,137 deaths and 13,162 wounded (as of Friday), United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate aid to reach Gaza.
“We are actively engaging with all the parties — Egypt, Israel, and the United States — in order to have these trucks moving as soon as possible,” Guterres told journalists on Friday, following his visit to Rafah.
“These are not just trucks,” he stated, “but a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death.”
The opening of the Rafah crossing has been debated by the Egyptian, American, and Israeli governments since the conflict began.
Egyptian authorities were initially reluctant to open the passageway to avoid admitting Palestinian refugees into Egypt but also to avoid becoming involved in the ongoing conflict.
“Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has surpassed being a military operation to become an attempt to force the sector’s Palestinian inhabitants to migrate and seek refuge in Egypt,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stated on Wednesday.
On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on the same day that Israel will not allow aid to enter Gaza through its borders but will not stop those coming for Egypt, granting that the aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas.
Despite his statement, Israeli airstrikes hit residential homes in the town of Rafah, on the borders of Egypt, just the day after, according to the Associated Press.
As for the United States, its government vetoed Brazil’s suggested UN Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to be transported in.
US President Joe Biden stated that no aid will be allowed as long as Hamas does not release its 200 hostages, some of whom were confirmed to be American citizens.
On the other hand, Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel also dedicated part of its discussions to the option of opening Rafah to allow the 500–600 Gazans with US citizenship to flee the warzone.
In the wake of these decisions, Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan, on Friday night. The following morning, Rafah was opened, and aid was allowed to come in.
However, 2.3 million Gazans currently struggle to find food and water and live without fuel and electricity. Therefore, aid agencies are calling for a significant increase in relief and assistance.
Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, stated, “The situation inside Gaza is dire. Not only is there no food, but there is also no water, electricity, or fuel. And that combination is not only catastrophic but can lead to more starvation and disease as well. We’ve got to get more trucks in.”
