Men carry out the body of a victim from a building in Rafah in the southern of Gaza Strip as the Israeli bombardment continued Thursday.
Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images
JERUSALEM — The first shipments of humanitarian aid could begin to arrive in the Gaza Strip as soon as Friday, nearly two weeks after the start of a punishing Israeli bombardment campaign targeted at the militant group Hamas.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has grown dire, aid groups say. Friday’s delivery, if it takes place, would be the first since Israel halted the flow of food, water, electricity and fuel to the territory earlier this month, in retaliation for a wave of attacks by Hamas on Israeli towns near Gaza.
The deal was announced by President Biden late Wednesday after a visit to Israel, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and later spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Israel says it will not lift its siege until Hamas has released some 200 hostages the group is believed to be holding.
That has left only Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, where trucks carrying some 3,000 tons of food, water and medicine are “awaiting” Egypt’s approval to enter, the United Nations says.
Officials hope that up to 20 trucks of aid could enter Gaza Friday after roads damaged by airstrikes have been repaired, Biden told reporters. Dozens more trucks will continue to standby until another agreement has been reached.
It is unclear if any fuel would be included in the shipment. With Gaza’s main power plant unable to operate, aid groups say fuel is badly needed to power desalination and wastewater…
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