Aid trucks begin entering Gaza under agreement with Egypt to bypass Rafah

Aid trucks have begun entering Gaza from southern Israel through a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of it earlier this month. Egypt refuses to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is handed back to Palestinians. But under U.S. and Israeli pressure it agreed to divert traffic through Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza’s main cargo terminal. That crossing has been largely inaccessible because of fighting linked to Israel’s offensive in Rafah. Israel says it has allowed hundreds of trucks to enter, but United Nations agencies say it is usually too dangerous to retrieve the aid on the other side.