Egyptian aid trucks moved closer on Tuesday to the only entry to Gaza not controlled by Israel, local and security sources said, but it was unclear when they might pass through the crossing, shut for days on the Palestinian side due to Israeli strikes.
At least 49 people were killed in overnight Israeli bombardment of Rafah, where the crossing is located, and the nearby town of Khan Younis, Gaza's interior ministry said.
People with dual citizenship who have gathered in recent days awaiting the opening of the Rafah crossing began approaching the border on Tuesday, but some said they were staying away due to the air strikes.
Egypt says the Rafah crossing, a vital artery before the fighting and now a key route for desperately needed supplies into the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave, has not been officially closed but has become inoperable due to the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza side.
Early on Tuesday some 160 trucks left al-Arish in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, where hundreds of tonnes of aid have been awaiting an agreement on aid delivery, an eyewitness told Reuters.
Ahmed Salem of the Sinai Foundation said that the trucks heading for the border contained Egyptian aid, and that the international aid remained in warehouses in al-Arish.
Israel began its intense bombardment and siege of Gaza following a devastating assault by Islamist Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
The territory's 2.3 million residents have been left without power, pushing health and water services to the brink of collapse, with fuel for hospital generators running low. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.
A U.N. spokesperson said on Monday that no progress had been made on the Rafah opening, and that fighting on roads key to the aid delivery made it difficult to operate.
NEGOTIATIONS
After nine hours of negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had agreed with Israel "to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza".
Blinken said both countries were concerned that Hamas would seize or destroy the aid. This concern, along with fears that aid would be used as cover for weapons, had hindered a planned delivery on Monday, two Egyptian security sources said.
An understanding was reached that the aid would be delivered to specific secure locations in Gaza under monitoring, the security sources said, in exchange for limited evacuations of foreign passport holders.
However, the sources said there were fears on the Palestinian side that that strategy would result in de facto forced displacement.
Salem and another security source said Egypt had repaired the roads within the crossing that had been damaged by Israeli strikes.
