The first trucks bearing emergency humanitarian aid since Israel began a devastating siege of Gaza 12 days ago entered the enclave from Egypt on Saturday after further heavy Israeli bombardment overnight that killed dozens of Palestinians.
U.S. President Joe Biden had said earlier this week that agreement had been reached for 20 aid trucks to cross through Gaza's Rafah border point with Egypt, and said on Friday he believed those first trucks would pass through within 48 hours.
Fifteen of the 20 trucks were on the Gaza side of the heavily fortified border after checks by the Palestinian Red Crescent and were preparing to proceed to recipients in populated areas, witnesses said, after days of diplomatic wrangling over conditions for delivering the relief.
But that would only be a small fraction of what is required in Gaza, where Israel's "total siege" has left its 2.3 million people running out of food, water, medicines and fuel in what the United Nations says is a budding humanitarian catastrophe.