Fuel trucks enter Gaza from Egypt as international aid trickles in

Desperately needed fuel trucks entered Gaza on Sunday for the first time since Hamas launched its brazen Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Seven trucks rumbled across the Rafah crossing point, escorted by United Nations vehicles, to deliver power to the besieged territory.

Hospitals across Gaza have reported dwindling resources and skyrocketing needs as Israel bombarded the densely populated 2-mile strip while cutting off outside resources.

Doctors say they have been forced to choose who will live and who will die due to limited resources.

“Every day, if we receive 10 severely injured patients, we have to manage with maybe three or five ICU beds available,” Dr. Mohammed Qandeel of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis told the Associated Press. “We have to choose who must face death.”

Humanitarian aid first entered Gaza on Saturday, following a deal between Egypt and Israel that was brokered by President Biden during his visit to the country.

A second convoy of food, water and medicine also crossed from Egypt into Gaza on Sunday morning, according to Egypt’s state-run media. The convoy included 17 aid trucks.

Prior to Sunday’s emergency fuel delivery, the U.N. agency in Gaza said the Palestinian territory would have been out of fuel by Wednesday.

As the world watched aid finally enter Gaza, leaders worried about potential expansion of the already devastating conflict. More than 4,300 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis have been killed since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7.

Over the weekend, Israel targeted the West Bank with airstrikes and authorities in the territory have reported 91 deaths. Israel rarely strikes the West Bank from the air, even as the territory has seen significant violence on the ground in recent years.

Additionally, airstrikes damaged airports in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Aleppo, which the Syrian military blamed on Israel. During Syria’s more than decade-long conflict, Israel has occasionally bombed the country’s major airports but it does not publicly discuss the operations.

U.S. military bases throughout the Middle East have been targeted by drones and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said late Saturday that improved air defense systems would be delivered to American bases throughout the region.

With News Wire Services