GAZA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- After what felt like an eternity of desolation, a convoy of trucks laden with humanitarian aid trickled across the Rafah-based, Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, reconnecting a battered population in Gaza with the lifeline they so desperately need.
For the 2.2 million residents of this coastal enclave, the supplies offered a flicker of hope, a return to a semblance of normalcy amid the chaos enveloping their lives for the past 15 months.
The ceasefire that took effect on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. local time (0915 GMT), though fragile, marked a critical juncture in the prolonged conflict between Hamas and Israel. Brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, the terms of the agreement required both sides to cease military operations, exchange prisoners for hostages, and open the Rafah crossing for humanitarian relief.
As the first light of peace illuminated Gaza, about 555 aid trucks entered the scorched landscape, most of which through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which the Israeli army has tightened its grip since May 2024, halting supplies from entering the Strip from Egypt.
For Mohammed, a UN employee overseeing his organization's aid shipments who did not provide his full name, the moment of seeing these vehicles' arrival was both overwhelming and poignant.
"We missed such a movement here at the crossing. I felt that I needed to cry as such an amount of aid would help my people get their basic needs every day," he told Xinhua, his voice tinged with emotion.
According to Mohammed, the aid trucks carry essential supplies, including food, water, medicine, fuel, and clothing.
"UNRWA has 4,000 truckloads of aid ready to enter Gaza; half of them carry food and flour," the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said on social media platform X. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has said on X that the UN agency "continues to work in Gaza despite the Israeli ban on its operations, which will come into effect on Jan. 30, 2025."
The World Health Organization has also pledged to deploy mobile hospitals within the next two months to support Gaza's ravaged health sector.
However, the fate of the Rafah crossing hangs in the balance, with Israel opposing any oversight by Hamas at the crossing. Talks are underway to have the Palestinian Authority supervise the crossing, with international observers lending their support.
"It does not matter who would control the crossing. We need our right to food and medical supplies," said Mohammed Zourob, a Rafah-based Palestinian man.
"We have been suffering from catastrophic conditions during the war. Our children died due to famine, and those who survived have been suffering from losing weight," the 55-year-old man lamented.
The opening of the crossing, he believes, could rejuvenate life in Gaza bit by bit, nudging the community towards a return to everyday existence.
"We have waited so long," said Suha Shaath, a displaced mother of four living in Khan Younis.
"This aid means my children can stay warm during cold nights, and maybe my wounded husband can get the treatment he needs," she told Xinhua.
As Gazans cautiously begin to rebuild their lives with the belated aid, the challenges ahead are vast and daunting. With a health care system already on the brink of collapse, thousands of patients still face insurmountable barriers to leaving Gaza for treatment in Egypt.
For Ahmed al-Arabid, a Gaza-based resident whose left leg was amputated in an Israeli airstrike, the struggle for medical attention is indeed a harsh reality.
"We hope the agreement will hold, but we have learned from past experiences that this occupation could breach it at any moment," he told Xinhua.
"I know that it will not be easy as we have thousands of patients, but I have to remain optimistic that I will pass the Rafah crossing someday," he said.
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