The 242nd humanitarian aid convoy, “Zaad El Ezza… From Egypt to Gaza,” began entering the Gaza Strip on Sunday, July 26, 2026, through the auxiliary gate of Rafah Land Port toward the Karam Abu Salem crossing, in preparation for delivering the assistance to Palestinians in the enclave. An official source said the convoy’s trucks are carrying large quantities of humanitarian and food aid, including food supplies, relief packages, flour, fresh bread, legumes, canned food, medicines, personal hygiene items, tents, clothing and fuel products. The source noted that the trucks are being inspected by the Israeli authorities before being allowed into the Strip.
Israeli authorities closed the crossings linking Gaza to the outside world on March 2, 2025, following the expiration of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the failure to reach a deal to extend the truce. On March 18, 2025, Israel resumed military operations with intensive airstrikes and renewed ground incursions into areas from which its forces had previously withdrawn. It also blocked the entry of humanitarian aid, fuel and shelter supplies for displaced Palestinians who had lost their homes during the war, while refusing to allow heavy equipment needed for rubble removal and reconstruction into the enclave.
Aid deliveries resumed in May 2025 under a mechanism implemented by the Israeli authorities and a US security company, despite objections from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which said the mechanism did not comply with the established international framework for humanitarian assistance. The Israeli military later announced a 10-hour temporary humanitarian pause on Sunday, July 27, 2025, suspending military operations in parts of Gaza to facilitate the delivery of aid. Mediators—Egypt, Qatar, and the United States—continued efforts to secure a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Gaza and an exchange of prisoners and detainees.
Those efforts culminated in an agreement reached in the early hours of October 9, 2025, on the first phase of a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump during talks in Sharm El Sheikh, with Egyptian, American and Qatari mediation and Turkish support. The second phase of the agreement entered into force on February 2, 2026, following the completion of the exchange of prisoners and detainees …
Summary from source