Rafah: The 252nd "Zad Al-Ezza: From Egypt to Gaza" humanitarian aid convoy began entering the Gaza Strip on Sunday, August 9, 2026, through Rafah crossing toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing in preparation for entering the enclave after operations were suspended on Friday and Saturday for the weekly weekend break.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the trucks were carrying large quantities of food and relief supplies, including essential food items, baskets, flour, fresh bread, legumes, canned food, medicines, personal care supplies, tents, clothing, and petroleum products. The trucks underwent inspection by Israeli authorities before being permitted to enter the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces had previously closed the crossings linking Gaza with the outside world on March 2, 2025, after the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and failure to reach an agreement to consolidate the truce. The ceasefire was breached by heavy Israeli airstrikes on March 18, 2025, followed by renewed ground incursions into various parts of Gaza from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn.
Israeli authorities also prevented the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel trucks, as well as shelter supplies for displaced people who had lost their homes during the war, and refused to allow heavy equipment needed to remove rubble and carry out reconstruction work into Gaza. Aid deliveries to Gaza resumed in May 2025 under a mechanism implemented by Israeli authorities and a U.S. security company, despite opposition from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which argued that the mechanism violated the established international system for delivering humanitarian assistance.
On Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Israeli army announced a temporary 10-hour "humanitarian pause" and suspended military operations in parts of Gaza to allow humanitarian aid deliveries. Mediators Egypt, Qatar, and the United States continued efforts to reach a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire and an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and hostages.
An agreement on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire was eventually reached in the early hours of Oct. 9, 2025, under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan announced in Sharm El-Sheikh, through Egyptian, U.S., and Qatari mediation and Turkish efforts. The second phase of the agreement entered into force on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, following the completion of the exchange of prisoners and hostages and the handover of the remains of the last Israeli hostage under the first phase. The second phase allowed Palestinians to enter the Gaza Strip and wounded and injured Palestinians to leave the enclave for treatment at Egyptian hospitals after the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing was reopened.