In a press conference on Friday in front of Egypt’s Rafah crossing, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated the aid convoys that have been held up waiting for safe passage into Gaza are “a lifeline and the difference between life and death for so many” in the embattled enclave.
“We are witnessing a paradox: behind these walls we have two million people that are suffering enormously, have no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel, that is under fire, that needs everything to survive”.
“On this side,” he continued, indicating the convoy carrying lifesaving supplies, “we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with food, with medicines – exactly the same thing that is needed on this side of the wall. These are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.”
To see the convoy stuck at the border makes what needs to happen very clear, he said.
What we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible,” he said, adding that the UN was “now actively engaging with all the parties” related to conditions set for cross-border aid deliveries in the Israel-United States announcement and the related Egypt-Israel agreement.
“We absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as many as necessary,” he said. “We are not looking for a win. We are looking for convoys to be authorized in meaningful numbers [and for] trucks to go every day into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gazan people.”
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