Twenty humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip via Egypt on Saturday morning, after Hamas terrorists released two U.S. citizens that they captured in a brutal terror attack on Israel on October 7.
It was the first aid to reach Gaza in two weeks. Israel had said it would not allow humanitarian aid into Gaza until the hostages were released. Hamas still holds 201 hostages, including Americans and other international citizens.
The Times of Israel reported:
Twenty trucks carrying aid cross into the Gaza Strip this morning as the Rafah crossing with Egypt opens for the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Reports from the border say the crossing closed again after the trucks went through.
That first convoy “must not be the last,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says.
The two Americans, who are Evanston, Illinois, residents Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Raanan, 17, were released Friday and are now in Israel. They spoke to President Joe Biden by phone.
Their release gives hope to Israelis whose loved ones — included elderly relatives, children, and even babies — have been taken hostage.
The government of Qatar, which protects Hamas leaders in luxurious exile in Doha, reportedly facilitated the release.
The Israeli government is managing a difficult balance between trying to secure the release of the hostages, while at the same time carrying out the mission of destroying the Palestinian Hamas terror organization completely.
