In Pictures

Limited aid enters Gaza as Israeli bombing compounds dire situation

The convoy of 20 trucks is nowhere near enough to address the needs of the besieged enclave, officials say.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/ — A truck carrying aid arrives at a UN storage facility in the central Gaza Strip. [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

A small number of trucks carrying humanitarian aid have started entering the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt, even as Israel’s bombardment of the besieged enclave continued unabated.

The convoy of 20 trucks is the first to enter Gaza since fighting between Hamas and Israel began two weeks ago. It included food supplies and medicines but no fuel, which aid groups say is “absolutely critical” for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.

Meanwhile, deadly Israeli air raids continued on Saturday across Gaza Strip, including in the south, where Israel had previously ordered residents relocate.

Egypt Israel Palestinians — Egyptian Red Crescent trucks at the Rafah border crossing. Aid agencies say the truckloads are nowhere near enough to covering the immense needs of Gaza's population. [Mohammed Asad/AP Photo]

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/EGYPT — The convoy carries medicines and food supplies, but not much-needed fuel. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-GAZA — Palestinians shop at a supermarket in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip as the first aid trucks arrived in the war-torn enclave, bringing humanitarian relief to the Palestinian civilians suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare" [Mohammed Abed/AFP]

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT — Meanwhile, Israel's bombardment of Gaza has continued abated. Here, a young injured woman is pictured in a hospital after an Israel air raid on Rafah. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]