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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza in northern Sinai in Egypt on Friday, CNN reported citing the office of the UN spokesperson.
This comes as the UN focuses on efforts to push humanitarian aid across the Egyptian border into Gaza. "For nearly two weeks, Gaza has gone without any shipments of fuel, food, water and medicine. The UN is focusing all its efforts for a sustained operation to deliver critical humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," the UN spokesperson said in a post on social media. Guterres told the reporters that the large convoy loaded with food and medicine was "the difference between life and death for the people," as per UN News. "We absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as many as necessary but for that there must be a sustained effort," the UN chief said. He added, "There needed to be trucks entering every day to provide enough support for the Gaza people". Before landing in Egypt, Guterres had called for humanitarian support to civilians in Gaza including core services and supplies. "I am in Egypt on a humanitarian mission and to witness @UN preparations to deliver massive support to civilians in Gaza. Humanitarians need to be able to get the aid in - and they need to be able to distribute it safely," Guterres posted on X (formerly Twitter) He added in a subsequent post, "Civilians in Gaza desperately need core services and supplies. We need rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access. We need food, water, medicine and fuel now. We need it at scale and we need it to be sustained". Meanwhile, several trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent and the World Food Programme (WFP) arrived at Rafah crossing on Friday morning, CNN reported. The trucks -- filled with essential medicines, food supplies and specialized nutrition for children -- are currently parked on the Egyptian side waiting to enter Gaza. The repair work is ongoing at the Rafah crossing to pave the way for humanitarian assistance into Gaza. A video posted by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights on X (formerly Twitter) showed "repair work and paving the road between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides" at the Rafah crossing into Gaza, CNN reported. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that "more delays will result in more suffering and more deaths" in Gaza. Earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Ministry said that a cargo plane landed at the Ramon Airport in southern Israel this morning, ferrying military ambulances and medical equipment for the Israel Defence Forces, Times of Israel reported. The Ministry stated that it is the 45th plane carrying equipment for the IDF to arrive in Israel since the war began on October 7. Around 1,000 tons of armaments have arrived in Israel, which are "designed to bolster the IDF's offensive plans," the ministry added. (ANI)
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