GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Tunisian aid convoy Karama, or Dignity, is still waiting for permission from Egyptian authorities to enter the Gaza Strip, Tunisian press reported Thursday.
The Karama aid convoy was launched in mid-September and its members are in contact with Egyptian authorities and Tunisian embassy officials in order to allow entry to Gaza via Rafah, according to Tunisian newspaper al-Fajer.
The convoy is carrying medical supplies which are unavailable in the Gaza Strip. It is the first Tunisian aid convoy to set out for Gaza since the Tunisian revolution, which ousted long-term president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
European aid convoy "Miles of Smiles" entered the Gaza Strip in August via the Rafah crossing from Egypt, and similar convoys arrived earlier in the month, and in June.
Israel imposed a blockade on the coastal strip since June 2006 after militants there captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.
The blockade was tightened a year later when Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
International aid organizations say 54 percent of Gaza's population are food insecure, and exports from Gaza are around one percent pre-2007 levels.
The Karama aid convoy was launched in mid-September and its members are in contact with Egyptian authorities and Tunisian embassy officials in order to allow entry to Gaza via Rafah, according to Tunisian newspaper al-Fajer.
The convoy is carrying medical supplies which are unavailable in the Gaza Strip. It is the first Tunisian aid convoy to set out for Gaza since the Tunisian revolution, which ousted long-term president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
European aid convoy "Miles of Smiles" entered the Gaza Strip in August via the Rafah crossing from Egypt, and similar convoys arrived earlier in the month, and in June.
Israel imposed a blockade on the coastal strip since June 2006 after militants there captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held.
The blockade was tightened a year later when Hamas seized control of the territory, ousting forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
International aid organizations say 54 percent of Gaza's population are food insecure, and exports from Gaza are around one percent pre-2007 levels.
Maan News Agency
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