Cairo, 21 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The first trucks carrying aid to the Gaza Strip have moved through Egypt's only border crossing with the enclave, according to images seen on Egyptian television.

Twenty trucks carrying medical supplies are to enter the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian TV channel al-Qahera news reports.

These are the first deliveries via the Rafah border crossing since the war erupted two weeks ago between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip.

Israel has imposed a "complete siege" on the Palestinian territory since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas militants, cutting off the densely populated Mediterranean coastal strip from food, fuel, medicines, water and other essential supplies, leading to fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

A long line of trucks carrying relief supplies has been backed up at the Rafah crossing for days.

Two trucks carrying medicines and a medical team had planned to cross the border overnight, an Egyptian security source told dpa.

Their entry, however, was halted because of Israel's bombing early Saturday, added the source on condition of anonymity.

Israel has been pounding Hamas targets by air and mobilized hundreds of thousands of military reservists ahead of an expected ground offensive in Gaza.

The United States and UN agencies, among others, has expected Rafah to open for aid on Wednesday. Egyptian and US officials have cited the need for road repairs as one reason for the delay.

UN chief António Guterres, who visited the crossing on Friday, called the aid convoys a "lifeline" for suffering Gazan civilians.

Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets from Gaza toward Israel. Warning sirens blared in the Israeli port city of Ashdod, north of Gaza, on Saturday morning, according to the Israeli army.

There was initially no information on damage or casualties.

The towns and communities closest to the border have largely been evacuated to protect the civilian population. The coastal city of Ashkelon also received several rocket alerts on Friday night.

Photo: EPA