More planes carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza arrive in Egypt
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Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid prepare to enter Gaza at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing
Cairo: More aeroplanes carrying humanitarian aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip landed in Egypt's al-Arish Airport in North Sinai governorate on Monday.
The airport which is located less than 50 km away from the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, received planes from Algeria, Kuwait, Iraq, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with two planes from the World Health Organization (WHO), Xinhua news agency quoted the Egyptian Red Crescent as saying on Monday.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Monday said that his country sent two cargo planes to Egypt carrying medical equipment and supplies for the Gaza Strip, while two more aircraft would be sent with more supplies.
The aircraft also carried a medical team of 20 doctors, he added.
Earlier on Monday, the Egyptian Red Crescent announced that it delivered a new aid convoy to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that it has received the third convoy of 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid containing food, water, medicines, and medical supplies.
Earlier in the day, North Sinai Governorate announced that at least 27 aid planes have landed in North Sinai's al-Arish airport since October 12, carrying aid from many countries including Jordan, UAE, Russia, Turkey, and Brazil as well as UN agencies.
For two weeks, the Gaza Strip has been under deadly Israeli siege and strikes in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack.
However, the aid deliveries entering Gaza have not included fuel.
The UN Relief Works Agency, by far the largest humanitarian provider in Gaza, will exhaust its fuel reserves within the next two days, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"No fuel means no functioning water desalination. No fuel also means that humanitarian partners will have to focus almost their entire aid delivery operation on transporting water. It also means no bakeries and no hospitals," it said.
With inputs from IANS