STORY: :: Food supplies waiting to enter the
Gaza Strip from Egypt have begun to rot
:: Arish, Egypt
:: May 22, 2024
:: The Rafah border remains shut to aid and
commercial food trucks for a third week
:: as people inside the Palestinian
enclave face worsening hunger
:: Sheikh Zuweid, Egypt
Rafah was a main entry point for humanitarian relief as well as some commercial supplies before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gazan side of the border on May 6 and took control of the crossing from the Palestinian side.
Egyptian officials and sources say humanitarian operations are at risk from military activity and that Israel needs to hand the crossing back to Palestinians before it starts operating again.
Israel and the United States have called on Egypt, which is also worried about the risk of Palestinians being displaced from Gaza, to allow the border to reopen.
Meanwhile the backlog of aid on the road between the Egyptian side of the crossing and the town of al-Arish, about 28 miles (45 km) west of Rafah and an arrival point for international aid donations, has been building up.
A global hunger monitor has warned of imminent famine in parts of Gaza.
