Gaza waits for aid after Biden deal to allow convoy via Egypt

Gaza waits for aid after Biden deal to allow convoy via Egypt

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The Gaza Strip was waiting for humanitarian aid on Thursday, a day after Israel and Egypt agreed to allow basic assistance into the south of the enclave.

With US president Joe Biden warning that Israel risked “losing credibility worldwide” if it did not “relieve the suffering of people who have nowhere to go”, Israeli officials said a small convoy with food, water and medicine would soon be allowed to enter the enclave through Egypt. But they provided no clear timeline.

The agreement followed talks between Biden and Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the US president’s one day trip to Israel, the first such visit during wartime.

Speaking on Air Force One during his return flight to Washington, Biden said aid could start to reach Gaza by Friday.

He added that Sisi had agreed to open the Rafah crossing from Egypt into the south of Gaza to allow in up to 20 trucks of humanitarian assistance.

Martin Griffiths, the UN’s humanitarian chief, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Gaza required a return to prewar levels of 100 trucks a day to provide assistance throughout the territory to people in need.

He added