The first humanitarian aid convoy to be sent to the besieged Gaza Strip since war broke out there began moving through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt on Saturday after days of diplomatic wrangling over conditions for delivering the relief.

The United Nations said the 20-truck convoy included life-saving supplies that would be received by the Palestinian Red Crescent. Palestinian group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said the delivery included medicine and limited amounts of food.

Rafah is the main route in and out of the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel, and the focus of efforts to deliver aid to Gaza's 2.3 million residents.

UN officials say at least 100 trucks a day are needed in Gaza to cover urgent needs, and that any delivery of aid needs to be sustained and at scale. Before the outbreak of conflict, an average of about 450 aid trucks were arriving there daily.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza – already precarious – has reached catastrophic levels," UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

"I am confident that this delivery will be the start of a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies – including food, water, medicine and fuel," he said.

The Israeli military said that humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip would go only to southern areas of the enclave, where it has urged Palestinian civilians to congregate to avoid its fighting with Hamas.

In a televised briefing, chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the aid shipments would not include fuel.

Israel imposed a total blockade and launched air strikes on Gaza in response to a deadly attack on Israeli soil by Hamas on October 7. The Rafah crossing has been out of operation since shortly afterwards, and bombardments on the Gaza side damaged roads and buildings that needed repairs.
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Last updated: 2023-10-21 HKT 18:08