Second convoy of relief trucks en route to Gaza through Rafah crossing

RAFAH -- A convoy of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid reached the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, before heading to the besieged Gaza Strip which is experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israeli airstrikes, Egyptian humanitarians at the border said.

It is the second aid convoy to be sent to Gaza after the first convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies entered the coastal enclave on Saturday.

Sunday's aid consists of food, medical supplies, water, blankets, clothes, shrouds, and other items, Ra'ed el-Gebaly, a volunteer with the Egyptian Food Bank, told Xinhua at the Egyptian side of the crossing.

The trucks, which have been prepared by the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, a coalition of Egyptian NGOs, in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent, are set to be delivered to humanitarians of the United Nations, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the Red Cross on the Gaza side, relief volunteers said.

"The aid supplies are still so much less than what is needed for a couple of million people besieged in Gaza who lacked basic needs under very difficult conditions," said Abdel-Rahman Habat, basic needs portfolio manager at Cairo-based Life Makers Foundation, an NGO with the National Alliance for Civil Development Work.

"We try to contribute to relieving the suffering of the people of Gaza and we will continue to do so until we cover most of their needs," he added.

About 200 more vehicles were waiting on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to enter Gaza.

Egypt's El-Arish airport and the Rafah crossing are "the lifelines to the people of Gaza," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said during his visit to Egypt last week.

For two weeks, the Gaza Strip has been under deadly Israeli siege and strikes in retaliation for the attack of the Gaza-controlling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel on Oct 7. The Israel-Hamas conflict killed more than 6,000 people on both sides.