RAFAH, Egypt, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Mohamed Ragab stood among crates of wilted fruits and vegetables, his frustration palpable: The 28-year-old truck driver has just completed the exhausting process of unloading his vehicle yet again, only to watch the perishable cargo spoil after being held for 72 hours by the Israeli side.
"This is the second time to load and unload the truck for unconvincing reasons," Ragab lamented, citing arbitrary Israeli limitations like the quantities of goods or the height of the food items as obstacles preventing aid from reaching the Palestinian people, who are desperately in need of sustenance.
"We had to drive for more time to Gaza because the other Palestinian side of the crossing doesn't work. I feel irritated waiting for long hours while sleeping less and then returning with goods back," he added, sorting through a few salvageable apples.
For Ragab and countless other drivers, the journey to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza has become a grueling ordeal. They often spend more than 45 days away from their families, navigating the labyrinthine routes to bring essential supplies to those in the enclave.
On Jan. 19, the Rafah crossing was reopened from the Egyptian side as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. The other side of the crossing, however, has been much more complex, as it has been under the control of the Israeli military since May 2024. Aid trucks now must navigate a new reality -- crossing from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border to reach the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing for Israeli inspection before they finally enter Gaza.
Abdel-Aleem Qeshta, spokesperson for the Egyptian Zakat and Charity House, emphasized the ongoing commitment to provide aid to Gaza in cooperation with nearly 85 countries and numerous civil society organizations.
According to Ahmad Abduallah, relief coordinator with the Egyptian Red Crescent, some 300-350 trucks with humanitarian aid and around 14-25 trucks with fuel enter Gaza each day, and the flow of goods often varies depending on Israeli readiness to receive more supplies.
The continuous changes in criteria from the Israeli side for the number, information, and height of the aid packages complicate the delivery efforts, Abduallah told Xinhua.
Governor of North Sinai Khaled Megawer told Xinhua his office has been receiving hundreds of daily calls from individuals offering to donate supplies to Gazans, but the process is subject to official measures to ensure meeting international criteria of collecting, listing, and packing commodities.
Abduallah echoed that sorting the aid packages, listing them with QR codes, and distributing them in different warehouses based on international criteria take a long time.
So far, the route into Gaza has been only designated for commodities but not individuals, but transferring the wounded from Gaza to Egyptian hospitals for treatment has been increasingly urgent.
The United Nations Children's Fund reported in mid-January that less than half of Gaza's 36 hospitals are operational, heightening the risk of infectious diseases and endangering the lives of vulnerable populations, particularly children.
"The Egyptian side of the crossing is completely ready to send the humanitarian relief and receive the injuries directly, but still the Palestinian side of the crossing needs some work to function in a normal way," Megawer said.
A European delegation will monitor the other side of the crossing in coordination with the Palestinian authorities, while the Egyptian side will be completely supervised by Egypt, he noted. ■
