By Al-Fassel | 2023-12-13

Egypt began to ramp up aid deliveries to Gaza on Tuesday (December 12) following Israel's decision to open the Kerem Shalom crossing as an additional inspection point for aid, sending a convoy of 80 trucks to the checkpoint.

Kerem Shalom, which links Gaza, Israel and Egypt, is not operating as a crossing point at this time but rather as a checkpoint, where aid deliveries are inspected before heading to Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt (about 3km away).

Its opening will speed the inspection process and thereby the delivery of aid.

"This is being done to improve the volume of security screenings of aid entering Gaza via the Rafah crossing and will enable us to double the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza," the Israeli army said on X.

Similar checks are being carried out at the Nitzana border post, controlled by Israel, where aid shipments are inspected and then sent back to Gaza, AFP reported.

Kerem Shalom will screen "trucks containing water, food, medical supplies and shelter equipment," according to a joint statement from the Israeli army and COGAT, the defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs.

On Sunday, the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said around 100 trucks per day were bringing humanitarian supplies from Egypt into Gaza, compared with a pre-war average of 500.

Accelerated aid delivery

Egypt sent an aid convoy of 80 trucks to Kerem Shalom for inspection on Tuesday, and another 100 to the Nitzana border post, according to humanitarian sources in Egypt.

Before the opening of Kerem Shalon, Nitzana had been processing all international aid from the Rafah border crossing before allowing it into Gaza.

Before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering the ongoing war, Kerem Shalom was used for 60% of goods entering Gaza, according to Israeli officials.

For two months, aid has trickled in through the Rafah crossing with Egypt after being inspected at the Nitzana border post.

Trucks remain backed up, but only a fraction have been allowed in every day.

The Israeli military on Tuesday said reopening Kerem Shalom would allow it to "double" aid reaching Gaza, AFP reported.

"Today we screened the first batch of aid trucks for possible Hamas weapon-smuggling at Kerem Shalom before they drove to the Rafah crossing," Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said.

"The problem is the bottleneck at the crossing with Egypt, and the problem is that Israel is currently inspecting aid quicker than UN agencies on the ground are able to deliver it," he said.

Egypt's leading role

Egypt has delivered 11,200 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Rafah crossing since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine el-Qabbaj.

This includes water, food, medicines, medical equipment, mattresses and tents.

Egypt also has received 239 aid planes from various countries at al-Arish airport in North Sinai and delivered their shipments to Gaza through the Rafah crossing, Ahram Online reported Monday.

"Led by the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Egyptian Food Bank, dozens of civil society organizations in Egypt have been contributing to humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza since the start of the war," the news site said.

Egypt has played a leading role in the humanitarian response, with the North Sinai provincial capital of al-Arish serving as a hub for Gaza aid efforts.

Egypt is scheduled to host a conference in mid-December, with the participation of all Red Crescent and Red Cross societies worldwide, aimed to bolster humanitarian efforts during the war in Gaza, Ahram Online reported.

Jordan hosted an international meeting in Amman on November 30 to coordinate Gaza emergency relief, and France hosted a November 9 conference on humanitarian aid for Gaza.

A delegation from the UN Security Council on Monday visited al-Arish and Rafah to oversee the progress of the humanitarian aid and medical operations provided to Gaza, according to Ahram Online.

The visit was coordinated between the missions of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the UN, according to a statement by Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ahmed Abu-Zeid.

The UN Security Council has been discussing an Arab-Islamic draft resolution, formulated by Egypt, which calls for an effective mechanism to allow the smooth entry of aid into Gaza and solutions to the obstacles preventing this.