Aid trucks stranded in Egypt as Israel delays reopening of Rafah border crossing

Transcript

00:00Fethi Fahmi is waiting for instructions to load his truck with aid bound for Gaza.

00:11But that may not happen anytime soon, as Israel continues to delay the reopening of the border from the Palestinian side.

00:20As you can see, we are sitting for long periods here in the desert.

00:24We've been working like this in Al-Arish since the war started.

00:27We deliver all types of goods, from clothes to food, drinks, medical equipment, everything they need.

00:35Most of the truck drivers here are accusing Israel of deliberately blocking assistance to the Palestinians.

00:42When we go, they turn us back several times, then accept the aid after pressure from the Red Crescent.

00:49And they spend ages just to inspect the truck.

00:52Once it took me seven months to deliver just one truckload.

00:55Imagine seven months waiting in the desert to deliver one cargo load.

01:00He describes how much of the food aid spoils while waiting to be delivered.

01:05Fahmi has entered Gaza both before and after the Israeli onslaught, witnessing firsthand the devastation on the ground.

01:12It was a beautiful place.

01:16Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was building three cities inside the Gaza Strip, and I used to deliver steel.

01:23I love the city, the roads, the beaches, but it's all destroyed now, horrible.

01:28I feel for this beautiful city and the lovely people here.

01:31So far, only about 80 or 90 trucks, instead of 600, are allowed to cross the border every day.

01:38The truck drivers are having a tough time here, waiting in the desert for months just to deliver one cargo of assistance to Gaza,

01:47and then back again and waiting for days, weeks, and months to go again.

01:51But at the same time, they feel that what they're doing is not just a job, but something for a good cause.

01:57For those truckers, every delay in delivering aid is a lost opportunity to help save lives.

02:06We've seen children in Gaza die from disease, thirst, and hunger.

02:10Kids and grown-ups jump on our trucks like crazy.

02:13They are so desperate, they fight over a drop of water or a piece of bread on the truck.

02:17I've never seen anything I care.

02:19We want to save them, but we feel helpless.

02:21They hope that ongoing peace efforts will succeed in ending the suffering of the Palestinian people.