AlQa'dah 1, 1435, Aug 27, 2014, SPA -- A humanitarian convoy of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) successfully crossed from Egypt into the Gaza Strip for the first time in seven years Wednesday, carrying enough food to feed roughly 150,000 people for five days. WFP said in a statement that its trucks arrived at the Rafah crossing after leaving Alexandria, where the food was procured, across the Sinai Peninsula. It was the first time that the agency has used the Rafah crossing point since the Israeli blockade was imposed in 2007. The 18-truck convoy carried 15,600 food parcels - part of a total of 25,000 food parcels - that includes ready-to-eat food such as canned meat, canned beans, tea, and dates. A second convoy with the remaining parcels is expected to cross into Gaza in the next few days. "It is extremely important that we have access to the Gaza Strip from different routes, including the Rafah crossing, to ensure a constant flow of humanitarian supplies to meet the growing needs of the people affected by the recent violence," said Mohamed Diab, WFP regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and East Europe. "The opening of the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid provides a major opportunity to scale up aid delivery to Gaza and needs to be sustained," WFP Country Director Pablo Recalde said. "WFP has provided emergency relief from the onset of the conflict and will continue its food deliveries to Gaza to reach people affected by the conflict." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday welcomed the announcement of an open-ended ceasefire for Gaza, adding that, after this latest round of killing and widespread destruction, civilians on both sides need a reprieve in order to resume their daily lives, and to allow for humanitarian and early recovery efforts to address the desperate needs of the people in Gaza.
