RAFAH, Gaza Strip (NEWSnet/AP) — The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to let a trickle of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory for the first time since Israel sealed it following Hamas' attack two weeks ago.

Twenty trucks were allowed to cross. Aid workers said that’s insufficient to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than 200 trucks carrying roughly 3,000 tons of aid have been positioned near the crossing for days.

World Health Organization said four of the 20 trucks that crossed through Rafah were carrying medical supplies, including essentials for 300,000 people for three months, trauma medicine and supplies for 1,200 people and 235 portable trauma bags for first-responders.

World Food Program said it has another 930 metric tons of emergency food waiting to be delivered through Rafah. It said it must replenish its “rapidly diminishing supplies” as it expands food assistance from 520,000 people to 1.1 million in the next two months.

Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians, half of whom have fled their homes, are rationing food and water. Hospitals are running low on medical supplies and fuel for emergency generators, amid a power blackout. Israel continues to launch airstrikes throughout Gaza, destroying neighborhoods, as Palestine militants fire rockets into Israel.

The border opening came after more than a week of diplomacy by various mediators, including visits to the region by U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Israel had insisted nothing would enter Gaza until Hamas released all captives and the Palestinian side of the crossing had been shut down by Israeli airstrikes.

“The situation is catastrophic in Gaza,” the head of the U.N.’s World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told The Associated Press. “We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid," she said.

The Hamas-run government in Gaza said the limited convoy "will not be able to change the humanitarian catastrophe,” calling for a secure corridor operating around the clock.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel military spokesman, said the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “under control.” He said aid will be delivered only to southern Gaza, where the army has ordered people to relocate, and no fuel would enter the territory.

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