480 AID TRUCKS ENTER GAZA UNDER CEASEFIRE DEAL, LOCAL AUTHORITIES SAY

ISTANBUL, Oct 17 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Local authorities in Gaza said that some 480 aid trucks entered the besieged enclave on Wednesday under a ceasefire agreement with Israel, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

The Gaza Government Media Office said in a Thursday statement that a total of 653 aid trucks were allowed into the territory since the ceasefire deal took effect on Oct 10.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal came into force under a plan proposed by United States (US) President Donald Trump to end Israel’s two-year war in the Palestinian territory.

Under the agreement, 600 humanitarian aid trucks are supposed to enter Gaza daily, including those carrying fuel and cooking gas.

On Sunday, Israel permitted the entry of only 173 aid trucks, including three carrying cooking gas and six carrying fuel, but no aid shipments were allowed in on Monday or Tuesday, according to Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the media office.

The office stressed in its statement that the amount of aid reaching Gaza remains extremely limited, describing it as “a drop in the ocean of needs.”

It emphasised that Gaza needs 600 aid trucks daily to ensure a steady supply of fuel, cooking gas, and urgent relief and medical materials.

The office said that Gaza’s government agencies continue to coordinate with international relief and humanitarian organisations to organise the entry and fair distribution of aid to ensure that it reaches the entire Palestinian population.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU