UN says 61 trucks deliver aid in northern Gaza

WASHINGTON: The United Nations on Saturday said 61 trucks carrying medical supplies, food and water had delivered their payloads in northern Gaza, as a pause in fighting allows aid to enter the besieged coastal territory.

Another 200 trucks had been dispatched to the Gaza Strip from Nitzana, Israel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement, with 187 of them having made it past the border by the early evening local time.

Eleven ambulances, three coaches and a flatbed were delivered to Al-Shifa hospital, which had seen heavy fighting in recent days, “to assist with evacuations,” the statement said.

“The longer the pause lasts, the more aid humanitarian agencies will be able to send in and across Gaza,” it added, thanking the Palestinian and Egyptian Red Crescent groups.

The day prior, when a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas began in order to facilitate the hostage and prisoner exchange, a total of 137 trucks had delivered aid in Gaza, according to the UN.

“We welcome the release of more hostages today and renew our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” the OCHA said.

“And we hope the release of more Palestinian detainees brings relief to their families and loved ones.”

Exchanges continued into early Sunday, local time, with Hamas expected to free a total of 50 hostages during the four-day truce in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, under an agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Hamas fighters snatched around 240 people when they broke through Gaza’s militarized border with Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, according to Israeli authorities.

Following the deadliest attack in its history, Israel launched an air, artillery and naval bombardment alongside a ground offensive to destroy Hamas, killing nearly 15,000 people, mostly civilians and including thousands of children, according to the Hamas government in Gaza.