Rutte: aid to Gaza important step, but more help is needed

Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the fact that the first trucks of humanitarian aid have arrived in Gaza as “an important first step, but more are needed.” The aid arrived from Egypt on Saturday morning.

Goed nieuws dat de eerste trucks met humanitaire goederen de grens met Gaza over zijn. Een belangrijke eerste stap maar er is meer nodig. Nederland blijft zich met partners in het Midden-Oosten inzetten voor het voortzetten van humanitaire hulp voor de bevolking van Gaza.

— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) October 21, 2023

The Netherlands remains “committed to continuing humanitarian aid” to the people of Gaza, the outgoing prime minister said on X. The Cabinet favors a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to end the humanitarian disaster.

Minister Liesje Schreinemacher (Development Cooperation) posted on X that she was “relieved” by the “modest amount of goods that are now being admitted”. The situation in Gaza remains “very worrying” and therefore more humanitarian aid must be sent to Gaza, the minister said.

According to the American news channel CNN, twenty trucks carrying aid have crossed the border at Rafah. After that, the border with Egypt is closed again. Israel completely closed off the Gaza Strip from the outside world shortly after the start of the war. Egypt keeps the border closed for fear of a flow of refugees.

According to the U.S. news channel CNN, 20 trucks carrying aid have crossed the border at Rafah. The border with Egypt was subsequently closed again. Israel completely cut off Gaza from the outside world shortly after the war began. Egypt keeps the border closed for fear of an influx of refugees.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken started negotiations to open the border crossing. He spoke with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi in Cairo and other leaders in the region. President Joe Biden also made a point of quickly opening the border crossing during his visit to Israel on Wednesday.