'Zad al-Izza' Updates: 157th convoy enters Gaza Strip carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians

CAIRO - 16 March 2026: The 157th convoy of humanitarian aid trucks on Monday began entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, heading towards the Kerem Abu Salem and Auja crossings, in preparation for its entry into the Strip.

 

 

Contents of the "Zad Al-Izza" Convoy

 

An official source stated that the trucks in the "Zad Al-Izza from Egypt to Gaza" convoy are carrying large quantities of food and relief aid, including food supplies, food baskets, flour, fresh bread, legumes, canned goods, medicines, personal hygiene items, tents, and petroleum products.

 

The source noted that the trucks are subject to inspection by the Israeli occupation authorities before being allowed to enter the Strip.

 

Israeli occupation forces had closed the crossings connecting the Gaza Strip since March 2, 2025, after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the failure to reach an agreement to solidify the ceasefire.

 

The Israeli forces violated the truce with heavy airstrikes on March 18, 2025, and resumed ground incursions into various areas of the Gaza Strip from which they had previously withdrawn.

 

The occupation authorities also prevented the entry of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, fuel, and shelter supplies for displaced people who lost their homes due to the war on Gaza.

 

They also refused to allow the entry of heavy equipment necessary for rubble removal and reconstruction into the Gaza Strip. Aid deliveries to Gaza resumed in May 2025 through a mechanism implemented by the occupation authorities and an American security company, despite the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) objecting to it as it violated the established international mechanism in this regard.

 

 

Temporary truce

 

The occupation army announced a "temporary truce" for 10 hours (Sunday, July 27, 2025) and suspended military operations in areas of the Gaza Strip to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

 

Mediators (Egypt, Qatar, and the United States) continued their efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and an exchange of prisoners and detainees. This culminated in an agreement reached in the early hours of October 9, 2025, between Hamas and Israel on the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, based on the Sharm el-Sheikh plan of US President Donald Trump, brokered by Egypt, the United States, and Qatar, with Turkish mediation.

 

The second phase of the agreement came into effect on Monday, February 2, 2026, after the completion of the prisoner and detainee exchange and the handover of the remains of the last Israeli detainee, in accordance with the first phase of the agreement.

 

Palestinians were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip and the wounded and injured were allowed to leave to receive treatment in Egyptian hospitals after the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing was opened.