The first wave of aid trucks carrying food, water and medicine entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday, international officials said, while key Arab world leaders blasted the perceived “injustice” of Israel’s growing war against the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.
United Nations officials said the first 20 aid trucks crossed from Egypt into Gaza, with nearly 200 more vehicles reportedly still waiting at the small border crossing in the Egyptian city of Rafah. The aid, officials said, is desperately needed, as more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced amid Israel’s military strikes on the enclave. The Israeli campaign is a response to Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terrorist assault that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and saw more than 200 people taken hostage, most of whom remain in the hands of Hamas militants. The hostages include women and children.
Israel’s response so far has come mostly in the form of airstrikes on Gaza, which Hamas politically controls. But Israeli forces and equipment have been gathering near the Gaza border for well over a week. A full-scale ground invasion is expected to begin imminently.
The U.N. has publicly pleaded with Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, most of which is without electricity and basic goods amid an Israeli blockade. U.N. officials said more aid must be allowed into Gaza immediately.
“Our near-term goals must be clear: Immediate, unrestricted and sustained humanitarian aid for besieged civilians in Gaza. Immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. And immediate and dedicated efforts to prevent the spread of violence which is increasing the risk of spillover,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday at an international summit in Cairo.
“To advance all these efforts, I appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire now,” the U.N. leader said.
The U.S., U.N., Egypt, Israel and other stakeholders have grappled with the details of allowing aid into Gaza. Among the issues is the question of who will inspect the aid trucks to ensure they include only humanitarian supplies, not weapons, and how the international community can guarantee Hamas doesn’t quickly seize the vehicles.
With the situation on the ground growing worse, prominent heads of state from the Arab world attended Saturday’s summit in Cairo, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II and others. Leading European and Asian nations sent their foreign ministers or other diplomatic officials, while the U.S. sent an official from its Egyptian embassy, according to media reports.
Israel reportedly did not attend the summit, nor did Iran, which is the primary backer of both Hamas and the Lebanon-based militant outfit Hezbollah. The U.S. has repeatedly warned Iran and Hezbollah not to inject themselves into the Israel-Hamas war, and the Pentagon has dispatched warships to the region as a deterrent.
Against that backdrop, Mr. Abdullah and other Arab leaders blasted the Israeli response so far, saying it has led to unjust and unnecessary suffering for innocent Palestinian civilians.
“The message the Arab world is hearing is that Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones,” Mr. Abdullah said, according to Reuters. “The Israeli leadership must realize once and for all that a state can never thrive if it is built on a foundation of injustice … Our message to the Israelis should be that we want a future of peace and security for you and the Palestinians.”
Amid the displacement of more than 1 million Gaza residents, other Arab leaders flatly rejected the notion of accepting large numbers of Palestinians as refugees into their countries.
“Egypt says the solution to the Palestinian issue is not displacement. Its only solution is justice and the Palestinians’ access to legitimate rights and living in an independent state,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at Saturday’s summit, according to English-language media accounts of his remarks.
As U.N. and Arab world leaders push for peace, Israel says it is preparing for the next phase of its military operation to eliminate Hamas. Israeli media reported Saturday that military forces are training for a ground incursion into Gaza, which is expected to begin soon. Israel insists that it does not and will not target civilians, but Hamas’ actions make it difficult to guarantee civilians aren’t caught in the crossfire. The terrorist group often bases its operations in schools, hospitals and other locations where humans can be used as shields.
The hostages taken by Hamas, now believed to number over 200, have greatly complicated Israel’s military options. Hamas has threatened to execute hostages if Israel strikes civilian targets in Gaza publicly.
Israel, the U.S. and other actors are believed to be working extensively behind the scenes to try to secure the hostages’ release before a ground operation begins. Two weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas on Friday released two American prisoners, Judith Ranaan, 59, and her daughter Natalie, 17, of the Chicago area.
Hamas said only that the Ranaans had been released on “humanitarian” grounds.
President Biden in a statement from the White House said he and First Lady Jill Biden were “overjoyed” at the news of the release, adding, “We have not ceased our efforts to secure the release of those who are still being held.”
“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” Mr. Biden said, thanking the governments of Israel and Qatar for their work in obtaining the release of the first two hostages.
— Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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