The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement includes a provision for the re-opening of the Rafah gate and for humanitarian aid procedures under the agreement that “will be done subject to the humanitarian protocol agreed upon under the supervision of the mediators.”
The Egyptian daily Al Ahram reported yesterday that Egyptian, Qatari, American, and Israeli delegations met in Cairo to discuss mechanisms for delivering aid to the Gaza Strip at the rate of 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement. Hundreds of trucks carrying food, water, and medicine were reported to be lined up on Friday, Jan. 17 on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, awaiting the green light on Sunday morning, Jan. 19, when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire goes into effect to enter the Gaza Strip to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to 2.3 million Palestinians.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and called for all parties to ensure the deal is fully implemented. “We need rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access to respond to the tremendous suffering in Gaza” he told reporters in New York following a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council. “A ceasefire is only a starting point.”