A man lifts a placard near tents set up by volunteers and NGO workers along the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, demanding clearance for an aid convoy to enter the Gaza Strip, on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Kerolos Salah / AFP)
Rafah, Egypt: Aid trucks waiting to cross from Egypt into Gaza are "a lifeline" which need to move into the war-torn Palestinian enclave as soon as possible, the UN chief said on Friday.
"These trucks are not just trucks, they are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as he visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to oversee preparations for the delivery of aid.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (left) and Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry hold a press conference following their meeting in Cairo on October 19, 2023 as Palestinians in war-torn Gaza await aid trucks promised in a deal struck by the US President with Egypt and Israel. (Photo by Khaled Desouki / AFP)
Cargo planes and trucks have been bringing humanitarian aid to Rafah for days, but so far none has been delivered to Gaza which has been under intense Israeli bombardment for almost two weeks since the deadly October 7 attacks.
On Friday, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the first aid delivery through Rafah would take place "in the next day or so".
"To see (the aid trucks) stuck here makes me be very clear: what we need is to make them move... to the other side of this wall... as quickly as possible and as many as possible," Guterres told reporters at the crossing.
The UN chief said it must be "a sustained effort" with not just one convoy crossing but for many "to be authorised in a meaningful number to have enough trucks to provide support to Gaza's people".
"It is essential to have fuel on the other side... to be able to distribute humanitarian aid for the population in Gaza," Guterres said, warning against the use of aid deliveries as "bargaining chips".
The United Nations, he said, was "actively engaging with all the parties", including Egypt, Israel and the United States, to get the trucks moving as quickly as possible.
Rafah is the only route into the blockaded Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel, which agreed to allow aid in from Egypt following a request from its US ally.
The UN chief's remarks came on the eve of a summit set to be hosted by Egypt to discuss efforts towards deescalation and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Also on Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Cairo, where the two agreed on the need to "avoid a contagion of conflict in the region", according to a Downing Street statement.
