90 aid trucks arrive at Awja, Karam Abu Salem crossings from Egypt, preparing to enter Gaza

Ninety aid trucks from Egyptian territory crossed via the Karam Abu Salem and the Awja crossings preparing for their entry into Gaza, an administrative official at the Awja crossing and a source in the Egyptian Red Crescent Society told Mada Masr on Sunday afternoon. 

The trucks were the first to leave Egypt after a long awaited ceasefire came into effect shortly after 11 am on Sunday morning. Under the agreement, 600 aid trucks are to enter Gaza daily, including 50 carrying fuel, as announced on Saturday by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty.

Dozens more trucks were likely to be permitted to enter Gaza from Egypt over the remainder of Sunday, both sources noted, contingent on the speed of Israeli procedures and the completion of truck inspections. 

The Awja source said that the Israeli side delayed the reception of trucks at the crossing for two hours this morning after the ceasefire began, before permitting them into the inspection area on the Israeli side.

Israeli forces invaded the Palestinian side of the crossing, occupying the area and destroying the crossing facility itself in May last year.

Since October 2023, Israel had been conducting meticulous inspections of aid trucks entering Gaza through the Gaza-Israel Karam Abu Salem crossing, and the Egypt-Israel Awja crossing. These measures, North Sinai Governor Major General Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha previously said, were part of "more specific coordination and inspection procedures.”

The number of trucks permitted to enter Gaza has significantly declined since the Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May. While around 500 trucks per day entered the strip before the war, only around o 15 to 20 trucks were able to enter daily through the Karam Abu Salem crossing after May.

The World Food Programme stated on Sunday that its aid trucks, loaded with flour and food parcels, have started entering Gaza via the Karam Abu Salem and Zikim crossings.

In the lead-up to the ceasefire, Egyptian authorities dispatched dozens of aid and fuel trucks to the road leading to the Rafah crossing, preparing for their entry into Gaza once the ceasefire took effect. 

The truce, originally scheduled to start earlier, was delayed by two hours to 11:15 am due to Hamas's late submission of the names of the three Israeli captives set to be released on the first day.

Meanwhile, ambulances stationed outside the crossing were repositioned within the Rafah border terminal. The Egyptian Red Crescent source said that this was an organizational measure and not an indication of resumed operations between the two sides of the crossing.

On Saturday, Egypt’s Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar and Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsy inspected the Red Crescent’s strategic warehouse and logistical support center for Gaza in Arish city, as well as the Arish General Hospital, Sheikh Zuwayed Hospital and the quarantine area at the Rafah crossing.