US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has agreed to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza to allow a first batch of around 20 humanitarian aid trucks through.
Although he said the shipment would likely not cross until Friday, as the road at the crossing needed repairs.
The US president also said the first 20 trucks will be a test of a system for distributing aid without allowing the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which controls Gaza, to benefit.
The United Nations is set to distribute aid on the Gaza side of the border.
“He noted that if Hamas confiscates it or doesn’t let it get through, then it’s going to end, because Israel and the US will not be sending any more humanitarian aid.
He added that the 20 trucks represented a “first tranche,” but “150 or something” trucks are waiting in total.
Biden characterized his trip to the war zone as a success and said that while expressing US support for ally Israel, he was “very blunt with the Israelis” on the need to allow aid into Gaza.
