Rafah: The 230th humanitarian aid convoy, named "Zad Al-Ezza... From Egypt to Gaza," has successfully entered the Gaza Strip through the auxiliary gate of Rafah Land Port, heading towards the Karam Abu Salem crossing.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the convoy's trucks are loaded with significant amounts of humanitarian and food aid. These include essential items such as food supplies, food baskets, flour, fresh bread, legumes, canned food, medicines, personal hygiene items, tents, clothing, and petroleum products.
The entry of this convoy comes in the wake of Israeli authorities closing the Gaza crossings on March 2, 2025, after the expiration of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The closure followed the failure to reach an agreement to extend the truce, leading to the resumption of intensive Israeli airstrikes on March 18, 2025, and renewed ground operations in several areas of the Strip.
During this period, Israeli authorities also blocked humanitarian aid trucks, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced Palestinians, refusing to allow the entry of heavy equipment necessary for debris removal and reconstruction. Nonetheless, humanitarian aid deliveries resumed in May 2025 under a mechanism implemented by Israeli authorities and a US security company. This move faced objections from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which criticized it for not aligning with established international mechanisms for aid distribution.
In a bid to facilitate humanitarian assistance, the Israeli military declared a temporary 10-hour humanitarian pause on July 27, 2025, suspending military operations in parts of Gaza. Meanwhile, mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US worked tirelessly to negotiate a comprehensive ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. These efforts culminated in an agreement on October 9, 2025, between Hamas and Israel on the first phase of a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump during the Sharm El Sheikh summit, supported by Egyptian, American, Qatari, and Turkish mediation.
The agreement's second phase began on February 2, 2026, after the completion of prisoner exchanges and the handover of the remains of the last Israeli hostage under the first phase. This phase allowed Palestinians to return to Gaza and enabled wounded and injured Palestinians to leave the enclave for medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals, following the reopening of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.