Aid begins entering Gaza as cease-fire appears to hold

 

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, hours after the start of a four-day truce in battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants, on November 24, 2023. SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

Hours after a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas took effect, aid trucks began entering Gaza.

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid were seen entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt hours after the truce began on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7:00 a.m. local time, according to Reuters.

Four tankers were filled with fuel and four tankers carried cooking gas, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on X. Israel's military has mostly prevented any fuel from entering Gaza, as it claimed it could be used by Hamas for military purposes.

COGAT, a body in Israel’s defense ministry responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, also confirmed the trucks entered Gaza.

Two of the trucks carried banners that read: "Together for Humanity" and "For our brothers in Gaza." Egypt has said 130,000 liters of diesel and four trucks of gas will be delivered daily to Gaza as the temporary truce begins.

Additional aid is expected to continue flowing into Gaza throughout Friday and the first hostages are expected to be freed at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT). An estimated 200 trucks of aid are expected to enter Gaza daily, should the temporary truce hold.

Friday was the first day of what is expected to be a four-day truce.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said in Qatar's capital city of Doha that the hostages will include women and children, with the total number rising to 50 over the four-day cease-fire.