Rafah border crossing to open on Friday as pressure for aid to reach besieged civilians mounts

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will open on Friday (Oct 20), according to state-linked television Al Qahera News.

Truckloads of aid carrying food and medical supplies designated for Gaza, on Thursday (Oct 19), remained on the Egyptian side of the border after United States President Joe Biden struck a deal with Israel to allow relief into the war-torn region.

Biden, during his visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday (Oct 19), said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had agreed to "let up to 20 trucks through, to begin with," to the heavily bombarded Gaza Strip, starting Friday, giving authorities time to repair roads.

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As per news agency AFP, 150 trucks were waiting at Rafah, the only passage in and out of Gaza which is not controlled by Israel.

This was in addition to the ones in the Egyptian city of El Arish, where planes loaded with relief supplies had been arriving.

WHO says trucks 'loaded and ready to go'

Meanwhile, World Health Organization on Thursday (Oct 19) welcomed Israel's announcement and said that their five trucks were loaded and ready to go.

"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference. He said he hoped the supplies would be delivered as soon as the Rafah crossing opened, "hopefully tomorrow".

On Wednesday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office released a statement saying that items like "food, water and medicine" would be permitted into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"In light of (US) President (Joe) Biden's demand, Israel would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt," the prime minister's office said.

"Israel will not allow any humanitarian aid from its territory to the Gaza Strip as long as our hostages are not returned," the statement read.

"Israel demands Red Cross visits with our captives and is working to mobilise broad international support for this demand," it added.

Israel had cut off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food to Gaza after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on Oct 7.

United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has estimated that about 100 trucks per day were needed to meet the needs in Gaza.

Humanitarian workers at the border have warned that the relief must be allowed into the region as soon as possible as the perishable items, that were a part of the aid, had begun to spoil. They also cautioned that the basic supplies have run dangerously low in the conflict-torn region.

(With inputs from agencies)

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