Rafah: A humanitarian aid convoy, "Zad Al-Ezza. From Egypt to Gaza," began entering the Gaza Strip on Sunday, June 14, 2026, through the Rafah Land Port, heading toward the Karam Abu Salem Crossing in preparation for delivery into the enclave, as part of Egypt's ongoing efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis facing more than two million Palestinians.
According to State Information Service Egypt, sources in North Sinai confirmed that a new batch of humanitarian and relief aid trucks departed from the Rafah border crossing and headed to the Karam Abu Salem Crossing, south of Rafah city. For its part, the Egyptian Red Crescent in North Sinai said the trucks entering Gaza were carrying humanitarian and relief supplies, including meat, flour, medical supplies, relief materials, petroleum products, and fuel.
Israeli authorities had initially closed the crossings connecting to the Gaza Strip on March 2, 2025, following the end of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the failure to reach a deal to maintain the truce. Israel subsequently breached the ceasefire with airstrikes on March 18, 2025, and resumed ground operations in several areas of the Gaza Strip from which it had previously withdrawn.
The Israeli authorities also prevented the entry of humanitarian aid trucks, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced persons who lost their homes during the war and refused to allow heavy equipment needed for rubble removal and reconstruction into Gaza. Aid deliveries resumed in May 2025 under a mechanism implemented by Israeli authorities and a US security company, despite objections from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which said the arrangement contravened established international procedures.
The Israeli army later announced a temporary 10-hour humanitarian pause on July 27, 2025, suspending military operations in parts of the Gaza Strip to facilitate the delivery of aid. Mediators - Egypt, Qatar, and the United States - continued efforts to secure a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Gaza and an exchange of prisoners and detainees. These efforts culminated in an agreement between Hamas and Israel in the early hours of October 9, 2025, on the first phase of a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump in Sharm El-Sheikh, with Egyptian, American, and Qatari mediation and Turkish support.
The second phase of the agreement entered into force on February 2, 2026, following the completion of prisoner and detainee exchanges and the handover of the remains of the last Israeli detainee under the first phase. The agreement allowed Palestinians to move into the Gaza Strip and enabled injured and wounded individuals to leave for medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals after the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing was reopened.