Cairo: The delivery of humanitarian aid trucks to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip resumed on Sunday, September 6, 2026, as part of the 'Zad Al-Ezza... From Egypt to Gaza' convoy, passing through the secondary gate of the Rafah Border Crossing toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing in southeastern Gaza after operations were suspended on Friday and Saturday for the weekly weekend break.
According to State Information Service Egypt, a reliable source in North Sinai confirmed that the 272nd batch of humanitarian and relief trucks under the Zad Al-Ezza convoy departed from Rafah Border Crossing toward the Karm Abu Salem crossing, south of Rafah. The trucks are carrying various humanitarian and relief supplies, including meat, food baskets, flour, medical supplies, relief materials, petroleum products, and fuel.
The Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) has maintained presence along the border since the beginning of the crisis. The Rafah crossing has never been completely closed from the Egyptian side, while the organization has maintained preparedness at all logistical centers and continued efforts to deliver humanitarian and relief aid, supported by more than 75,000 volunteers.
Israeli occupation forces closed crossings linking the Gaza Strip on March 2, 2025, following the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the failure to reach an agreement to consolidate the truce. The ceasefire was subsequently breached by heavy Israeli airstrikes on March 18, 2025, followed by renewed ground incursions into parts of Gaza from which Israeli forces had previously withdrawn.
Israeli troops also blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced Palestinians whose homes had been destroyed in the war on Gaza, and refused to allow heavy equipment needed to clear rubble and support reconstruction into the Strip.
Aid deliveries to Gaza resumed in May 2025 under a mechanism implemented by the Israeli authorities and a US security company, despite opposition from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which said the mechanism violated the established international system for aid delivery.
On July 27, 2025, the Israeli military announced a 10-hour 'temporary humanitarian pause,' suspending military operations in parts of Gaza to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar, and the US continued efforts to reach a comprehensive Gaza ceasefire and an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and hostages. An agreement between Hamas and Israel on the first phase of a ceasefire deal was reached early on October 9, 2025, under US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza, through Egyptian-US-Qatari mediation and Turkish efforts in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The second phase of the agreement took effect on February 2, 2026, following completion of the exchange of prisoners and hostages and the handover of the remains of the last Israeli hostage under the first phase. The implementation allowed Palestinians to enter the Gaza Strip and wounded Palestinians to leave for treatment at Egyptian hospitals following the reopening of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.