U.N. Secretary-General Guterres urges passage of 'life and death' supplies through Rafah border

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Friday passionately pushed for relief supplies to be allowed into Gaza, urging all parties to get the trucks filled with life-saving supplies moving as quickly as possible.

As Guterres spoke from the Egyptian side of Gaza's Rafah crossing, he said an agreement to unlock the supplies was near and said it was "impossible to be here and not feel a broken heart."

"We are witnessing a paradox: behind these walls we have 2 million people that are suffering enormously, have no water, no food, no medicine, that is under fire, that needs everything to survive," Guterres said. "On this side, we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, with food, with medicines -- exactly the same thing that is needed on this side of the wall."

Guterres called for a cease-fire as he said the U.N. is actively engaged with all parties, looking for the convoys of loaded supply trucks to start rolling fast.

He said fuel is urgently needed in addition to food, water and medicines.

"These are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza," Guterres said.

President Joe Biden said late Wednesday that Egypt has agreed to open its border with Gaza to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave being rocked by Hamas violence toward Israel and the bombing of Gaza by Israelis, who are also preparing a land invasion.

When the loaded trucks backed up at the closed Rafah Gaza crossing do start rolling there will likely be a test first with 20 trucks to see if they can enter and deliver supplies safely.

The trucks could begin moving as soon as roads bombed by Israel can be patched.

The Sinai Foundation wrote on X that repair work on the bomb-damaged roads was underway in preparation for a possible crossing into Gaza later Friday.

"The Sinai Foundation obtained an exclusive video from inside the Rafah land crossing, for repair work and paving the internal road between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides, in preparation for opening the crossing today, Friday, to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, for the first time since the beginning of the war on the Strip," it said.

The U.N. human rights office OCHA said Friday that according to Hamas-controlled Gaza authorities, the death toll in the Gaza strip has reached 3,785, including at least 1,524 children. More than 12,000 have been injured.

According to OCHA since Oct. 7, 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and over 4,600 injured.