Satellite images from Egypt show huge line of 200 aid trucks lined up Rafah crossing waiting to enter Gaza Strip after Biden promised they would be delivered – as Hamas releases American mother and her daughter

• The trucks are waiting to enter the Gaza Strip to deliver ‘life or death’ aid to the 2million Palestinians there
• The UN says the obstacle is ensuring they will go to the right place once over the border from Egypt 
• Chicago mother and daughter Judith and Nathalie Ranaan have been released by Hamas  

Satellite photos taken in Egypt today show a long convoy of aid trucks lined up waiting to cross the border into the Gaza Strip after being stuck in ‘limbo’ for days.

More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid were positioned near the crossing, according to aid officials. The provisions are intended to bring some relief to the Palestinians in Gaza, which is being blockaded by Israel in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on towns in southern Israel.

Many in Gaza, reduced to eating one meal a day and without enough water to drink, are waiting desperately for the aid. It was unclear whether fuel would be allowed across to power hospital generators.

On Friday, workers began repairing damaged to the crossing caused by Israeli bombings. Officials hoped to open the crossing on Saturday. 

This Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023 satellite photos analyzed on Friday by The Associated Press show a convoy of semitruck trailers lined up at the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side, likely waiting for approval to cross into the besieged Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war rages

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows both the Egyptian, left, and Gaza Strip, right, sides of the Rafah border crossing Thursday

Egyptian army vehicles and a security detail escort the vehicle carrying the United Nations Secretary-General near the gate of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip in the east of North Sinai province on October 20, 2023 during a visit to oversee preparations for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave

The Rafah crossing from Egypt is now the only way to deliver aid to Palestinians 

It comes as Israel confirms the release of an American woman and her daughter who were taken hostage on October 7. 

Natalie Raanan and her mother Judith were visiting family for the High Holidays when they were taken from their kibbutz. The pair from Chicago have now been released and are due to be reunited with relatives at a US military base. 

President Biden said today he was ‘overjoyed’ that the pair had been set free.  

The aid trucks were due to be transported into Gaza earlier this week but were hindered by, according to the President, an unpaved road. 

‘The highway had to be repaved because it was in very bad shape, and I believe that, within the next 24-48 hours, the first 20 trucks will come across with aid,’ he said this morning. 

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly warned of the ongoing dangers in Gaza and the risk for Palestinians if they are not given help soon. 

Since October 7, power, water and other basic supplies have been shut off since the start of the conflict. 

‘Behind these walls, we have two million people that are suffering enormously. They are the difference between life and death.

Egyptian Red Crescent members coordinate aid for Gaza, after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, at Al Arish Airport, Egypt, October 20, 2023

Egyptian army special forces soldiers deploy before the concrete barrier marking the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in Rafah in the east of North Sinai province on October 20, 2023

‘For so many people in Gaza, what we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall as quickly as possible,’ Guterres said at a news conference held on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Friday.

The Rafah Crossing is now the only way for aid to reach Palestinians. 

The UN said today that the biggest problem with delivering aid is ensuring it reaches its intended recipient and is not tampered with on the way. 

Israel and its allies want to monitor the aid, which is proving a challenge, according to Guterres. 

‘These announcements were made with some conditions and some restrictions. 

‘And so we are now actively engaging with all the parties, actively engaging with Egypt, with Israel, with the US in order to make sure that we are able to clarify those conditions that we are able to limit those restrictions in order to have as soon as possible Guterres said during the news conference.’

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C) speaks outside the gate of the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip in the east of North Sinai province

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