Egyptian Aid Convoy Rushes Relief to Devastated Gaza Hospitals
Egypt permits aid trucks into Gaza amidst deteriorating conditions, as global outrage mounts over Israel's blockade in retaliation to the recent Hamas assaults
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United States President Joe Biden announced during his return from Israel that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had agreed to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza for humanitarian aid. This crossing, unlike others, is not under the control of Israel. Biden stated that approximately 20 trucks from an aid convoy, which had been waiting at the closed border gate for days, would be permitted to enter Gaza. Prior to their passage, the damaged roads near the crossing, resulting from Israeli airstrikes, will need to be repaired. Biden mentioned that this work could be completed in eight hours on Thursday, allowing for the first aid deliveries to take place on Friday.
A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on Monday.
Biden declared that the crossing would solely facilitate the passage of aid, rather than evacuations, creating an uncertain future for the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza who have no means to escape, including foreign nationals and individuals with dual citizenship.
As the calls for assistance grew more desperate in the past week, Palestinians in Gaza started fleeing to the south in response to Israel's evacuation alerts in the north. However, they soon discovered that nowhere in the densely populated territory was truly safe.
A woman mourns over a dead man at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, October 18.
A Palestinian man inspects a destroyed house belonging to the Al-Jazzar family after an airstrike in Rafah, Gaza, on October 18.
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Israeli security inspects debris from a rocket in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, on October 18.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US President Joe Biden stand alongside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials as they anticipate the commencement of the Israeli war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on October 18.
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Wounded Palestinians sit on the floor at the Al-Shifa Hospital after being transported from the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital following a blast there on Tuesday, October 17.
Bodies of Palestinians killed in the blast at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital lie in front of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 17.
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In Gan-Yavne, Israel on October 17, individuals came together to honor the Israeli Kutz family during their somber funeral. Tragically, the family of five was brutally killed in their own home by Palestinian militants who had managed to infiltrate the Israeli Kibbutz of Kfar Aza just a week prior.
On Tuesday, October 17, amidst the wreckage caused by an Israeli attack in Khan Younis, Gaza, dedicated civil defense members and residents tirelessly carried out search and rescue missions. Following the destruction of buildings, their valiant efforts aimed to find and rescue any survivors amidst the chaos. A poignant image captured by Mustafa Hassona for Anadolu/Getty Images.
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Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza on October 16.
People hold Israeli flags as friends and family mourn Dor Reder at his funeral in Beit Kama, southern Israel, on October 16.
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Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian youth during his funeral in Nablus, West Bank, on October 15.
Israeli army soldiers patrol at an undisclosed position in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on October 15.
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Palestinians collect water from a tap on October 15 after Israel blocked supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel to Gaza.
People react at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Saturday, October 14.
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Leaflets dropped from Israeli army planes fall over Gaza City on Friday, October 13.
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Israeli artillery fires on the Israel-Gaza border on October 13.
Israelis take cover after hearing warning sirens of incoming rockets fired from Gaza in Rehovot, Israel, on October 13.
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Palestinians flee from northern Gaza to the south after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning to seek refuge in the south, on October 13.
Mourners attend the funeral of Israeli soldier Abraham Cohen at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 12.
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An Israeli soldier patrols near the Nova music festival grounds near Be'eri, Israel, on October 12.
An Israeli military helicopter flies near the border between Gaza and Sderot, Israel, on October 12.
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Smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on October 12.
A Palestinian woman covered in dust and dirt carries a child in Gaza City on October 12.
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People carry bodies of Palestinians killed during an Israeli airstrike prior to their burial in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
An aerial view of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza City on October 11.
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Israeli soldiers load donated food into the back of a military vehicle in Sderot, Israel, on October 11.
Bullet holes can be observed in a fractured window situated at the entrance of a kindergarten in Be'eri, Israel, as depicted on October 11. This specific self-sufficient agricultural community in close proximity to Gaza was among the initial locations deliberately attacked by Hamas extremists on October 7.
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A boy carries salvaged belongings from the wreckage of his family's home in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 11.
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on the seaport of Gaza City on Tuesday, October 10.
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The funeral of Eden Guez in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 10 drew mourners grieving the loss of her life. Eden Guez was tragically killed while attending a music festival, which was targeted by terrorists from Gaza. Israeli authorities have reported a devastating toll, with at least 260 victims at the Nova Festival.
Israeli soldiers take position in Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza on October 10.
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Stranded travelers wait to be booked on a flight at Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv on October 10.
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People gather around the bodies of two Palestinian reporters, Mohammed Soboh and Said al-Tawil, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 10.
Israelis mourn as they attend the funeral of Israel Defense Forces soldier Noam Elimeleh Rothenberg at Mount Herzel Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 10.
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Children run for cover as bombs fall near the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 9.
A photo from a wedding is seen on the ground of a building in Ashkelon that was hit by rockets from Gaza on October 9.
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Friends and relatives of Ilai Bar Sade mourn next to his grave during his funeral at a military cemetery in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 9.
Sama Alwadia, a six-month-old infant, was saved from the debris in Gaza City on October 9. Despite surviving the initial attack, she tragically passed away during the course of her medical treatment for the inflicted injuries.
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A Palestinian man mourns over the body of his nephew killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on October 9.
Israeli security and emergency officials respond after a rocket landed in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Ilit, in the occupied West Bank, on October 9.
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Palestinians remove a body from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Jebaliya refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
A plume of smoke rises in the sky over Gaza City during an Israeli airstrike on October 9.
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An injured Palestinian child is pictured in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes at al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza on October 9.
Israelis view a damaged residential building in Ashkelon after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza on October 9.
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Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times/Redux
A relative of an Israeli missing since the attacks is overcome by emotion during a press conference in Ramat Gan, Israel, on October 8.
Palestinians inspect a mosque destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, Gaza, on October 8.
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Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza on October 8.
Palestinians search the rubble of a home in Khan Younis that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes on October 8.
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Rockets launched from Gaza are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system on October 8.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/Redux
From the window of his family's apartment, a man surveys damage from a rocket that struck a parking lot in Ashkelon on October 7.
Palestinians gather around an Israeli army vehicle that Palestinian militants drove from Israel into Gaza on October 7.
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Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa/Reuters
Israeli police take cover in Ashkelon as sirens wail while rockets are fired from Gaza into Israel on October 7.
Smoke rises over Gaza during Israeli airstrikes on October 7.
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Vehicles in Ashkelon burn as rockets are launched from Gaza on October 7.
A man in Ashkelon runs after rockets were launched from Gaza on October 7.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
Outside of a hospital in Gaza, men sit next to the covered body of a Palestinian militant killed during Saturday's clashes.
Relatives of Palestinians killed on Saturday, October 7, mourn at the morgue of a hospital in Gaza.
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A building in Tel Aviv is ablaze Saturday, October 7, following rocket attacks from Gaza.
Smoke rises as the clashes between Palestinian groups and Israeli forces continue on the streets of Beit Hanun in Gaza on October 7.
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In pictures: The deadly clashes in Israel and Gaza
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Israel has enforced a blockade on Gaza for almost 17 years, isolating the strip from the rest of the world by air, land, and sea. The situation in Gaza was already dire, but it has worsened rapidly since Israel halted the supply of resources following the attack by Hamas, the militant group that governs the strip. The attack, characterized as the most devastating Jewish massacre since the Holocaust, resulted in an estimated 1,400 deaths, mostly innocent civilians. Additionally, Hamas has captured approximately 150 individuals as hostages.
Palestinian officials have accused Israel of hitting the hospital, a claim Israel denies.
Israel on Wednesday laid out evidence that it said shows a rocket misfire by militant group Islamic Jihad.
Still, Israel faced condemnation from multiple Arab countries for allegedly bombing the hospital. Thousands of demonstrators in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, and Tunisia gathered, chanting anti-Israel slogans.
The Gaza hospital explosion is surrounded by uncertainty. Here's what we know and what we do not know. Several nations and international entities, such as the United Nations, have expressed profound shock over the casualties and emphasized the importance of not assigning blame until the situation becomes clearer.
He refrained from discussing the specifics of the efforts to evacuate Americans and other civilians from Gaza but expressed optimism about the ongoing attempts. As anti-Israel demonstrations escalate throughout the Middle East, concerns arise about the possibility of other conflicts emerging, especially on Israel's northern border with Lebanon. This area is controlled by the Iran-backed militia, which has engaged in growing confrontations with the Israeli military in recent days.
CNNs Kayla Tausche, Nikki Carvajal, Rob Picheta, MJ Lee, Natasha Bertrand, Helen Regan, Tara John, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Heather Law and Stephen Collinson contributed to this report.
