CAIRO, December 12. /TASS/. Over 40 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the people of the Gaza Strip along with 5 fuel trucks have entered the enclave through the Rafah checkpoint, according to Al-Qahera al-Ihbaria.

According to the report, 9 people injured in Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip have been taken to Egypt. Over the past few hours, over 300 people with dual citizenship have been able to leave the enclave through the Rafah checkpoint.

Previously, the media reported that the first trucks carrying humanitarian aid had been directed to the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, opened for the first time since the beginning of the escalation in the region. This checkpoint is located 5 km away from Rafah; its reopening will accelerate the delivery of aid to the people of Gaza multifold.

Until today, all humanitarian cargo brought through the Rafah checkpoint was being delivered to the Al-Auja checkpoint for inspection by the Israeli side, and only then was being dispatched to the Palestinian side near Rafah. The Foreign Ministry of Egypt stated that this additional distance of about 100 km, as well as bureaucratic complications, created obstructions that significantly delayed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The situation in the Middle East has escalated abruptly after an armed infiltration of HAMAS militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The HAMAS movement considers this attack a response to the actions of Israeli authorities towards the Al Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Israel announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and started carrying out strikes on the enclave and certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.