Some of food supplies intended for Gaza Strip from Egypt started rot while the Rafah border crossing remains closed to humanitarian aid for a third week and the population of the Palestinian enclave faces worsening hunger.

Rafah It was he main entry point for humanitarian aid and some commercial supplies before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gaza side of the border on May 6 and took control of the crossing on the Palestinian side.

Senior Egyptian officials and sources claim that humanitarian operations are under threat due to military activity and that Israel must return the passage to the Palestinians before it acts again.

Israel and USA called on Egypt, which is also concerned about the risk of displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, allow the border to open.

At the same time, help accumulated on the road There is growing pressure between the Egyptian side of the border crossing and the town of Al-Arish, about 45 kilometers west of Rafah and the arrival point for international aid.

Truck driver Mahmoud Hussein said his cargo was being transported month loaded into your car, gradually deteriorates in the sun. Some food is thrown away, some is sold cheaply.

“Apples, bananas, chicken and cheese, many things have rottedsome items were returned and They sell for a quarter of their price.He said, crouching under the truck, looking for shade.

“I’m sorry, but the onions we brought andAt best, they will be eaten by animals. because of the worms they have”

Humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza through Rafah began in late October, two weeks after the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

He the flow of aid was often slow Israeli inspections and military activities inside Gaza, and the number of residents of the enclave reached 2.3 million people. much lower than needssay those responsible for assistance.

The Global Famine Observatory warned of one case in parts of Gaza.

rotten eggs

From May 5 not a single truck crossed Rafah and very few through the nearby Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing, according to the UN.

The amount of aid awaiting in the north of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is now very large, stuck for more than two monthssaid Khaled Zayed, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent in the area.

“Some relief packages require a certain temperature (…) We coordinate this with highly qualified food and medicine storage specialists,” he said.

“We hope that the border open as soon as possible“.

KSreliefcharitable organization funded by Saudi Arabia, more than 350 trucks with goods, including food and medicine were waiting to pass through Rafah, but had to unload the flour because of the risk of it rotting, said the group’s general manager, Abdul al-Rabiah.

“We pack and ship, but we also have to double-check. “It’s a big burden,” he told Reuters.

Some products are sold at discounted prices. at a local market in northern Sinai, leading to the confiscation of stocks of rotten eggs, according to local authorities at Egypt’s Ministry of Supply.

Inside Gaza, there were also concerns about the quality of delays in food supplies arriving before the closure of Rafah or through other crossings.