First aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt as ceasefire takes effect

CAIRO/GAZA - The first humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire started taking effect, Palestinian sources confirmed.

The sources told Xinhua that the first humanitarian aid entered the coastal enclave through the border crossing of Kerem Shalom in the southern of Gaza.

Earlier in the day, the Egyptian state-run Nile TV showed footage of dozens of aid trucks crossing the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing to be inspected by Israeli authorities before crossing the Palestinian side to enter Gaza.

Delegations from mediators Qatar and the United States, in addition to others from Palestine and Israel, arrived in Cairo on Sunday to monitor the implementation of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, added the TV reports.

Based on the ceasefire agreement, about 600 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including 50 fuel trucks, would enter Gaza every day to ease the humanitarian crises in Gaza.

The 42-day first stage of the ceasefire deal, reached on Wednesday through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, started taking effect on Sunday after Hamas provided a list of the three Israeli female captives to be released later in the day, the report noted.

Also, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the ceasefire agreement started taking effect.