Cindy McCain, the director of the United Nations World Food Program, stated on Thursday that the excessively stringent inspections of trucks at the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza have severely slowed the flow of humanitarian aid amid rising hunger rates among Palestinians in the area. The Rafah crossing, controlled by Egypt, has become the main point for aid delivery since Israel imposed a "complete blockade" on Gaza in response to an attack launched by Hamas militants from the coastal territory on October 7. The United States is leading negotiations with Israel, Egypt, and the United Nations in an effort to establish a sustainable mechanism for delivering aid to Gaza. The debate centers around the inspection procedures for aid and the bombardment on the Gaza side of the border.
McCain said in an interview, "We have received a trickle of trucks... We need to bring in significant quantities. We need safe, unrestricted access to Gaza so we can feed people and ensure they do not die of hunger, because that is what is happening." Limited shipments of food, water, and medicine entered since Saturday, but fuel has not been allowed due to Israeli fears that it could be diverted to Hamas. On Saturday, three trucks from the World Food Program entered Gaza carrying about 60 tons of food, enough to feed 200,000 people for one day. The program stated that another truck from the agency has entered the territory since then.
