From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Egypt sends 80 trucks of aid to reopened Kerem Shalom checkpoint for inspection
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
Egypt sent an aid convoy of 80 trucks today to the reopened Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into war-torn Gaza for inspection, according to humanitarian sources in Egypt.
Another 100 trucks were sent to the Nitzana border post, which has been processing all international aid from Egypt’s Rafah border crossing before it is allowed into Gaza.
No new direct crossings will be opened, Israel said earlier today, but the Kerem Shalom crossing would be used to check trucks before sending them in through Rafah.
This morning, the first batch of humanitarian aid trucks underwent inspection at Kerem Shalom and is now en route to the Rafah Crossing. This crucial step is set to expand the volume of aid reaching Gaza. We trust the @UN did all the adjustments to receive and distribute the aid. pic.twitter.com/Wugsas51kj
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 12, 2023
The IDF says reopening Kerem Shalom will allow it to “double” aid reaching Gaza, as Israel faces mounting pressure for a humanitarian ceasefire.
“Today we screened the first batch of aid trucks for possible Hamas weapon-smuggling at Kerem Shalom before they drove to the Rafah crossing,” government spokesman Eylon Levy says.
“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 adds.
The Times of Israel Community.