A 46-truck convoy organized by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO) carried more than 750 metric tons of life-saving food into Gaza this past Wednesday, marking the first time a direct aid convoy from Jordan has reached the Strip.

  The convoy moved in coordination with all parties through the Karam Abu Salem crossing via the King Hussein Bridge and may be the start of more aid moving through Jordan. Thus far, aid has only moved through the corridor in Egypt. WFP, headquartered in Rome, has been mobilizing food across all surrounding areas in the region and delivering food from Jordan to Gaza through this crossing will increase the volume and speed of food reaching the Gaza Strip as millions face the risk of starvation according to the WFP.

  “Establishing a corridor through Jordan will increase the flow of aid and remove some of the pressure and congestion we are currently facing. This will allow us to secure more supplies and have more trucks on the road,” said Samer AbdelJaber, WFP Palestine Representative and Country Director/Emergency Coordinator. “We are very grateful to everyone who made this possible. This is a promising step that will hopefully grant us more sustained and scaled-up access to reach more people in Gaza, faster.”
 

  The convoy is the first direct aid from Jordan reaching the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. WFP has been working with the Jordanian authorities to augment the humanitarian response. In past weeks, the UN agency has transported aid from Jordan to Gaza through the Jordanian port of Aqaba via the Red Sea to Nuweiba, Egypt and facilitated airlifts of inter-agency humanitarian supplies from Jordan to warehouse facilities in Al-Arish, Egypt for eventual onward transport to Gaza.

  The collaboration came after the Aqaba Process Meeting, hosted by King Abdullah II, which called for the opening of additional border crossings and the use of Jordan as a base for aid entry into Gaza. The WFP maintains it is committed to providing vital food assistance to reach people in the besieged strip wherever they are in the fastest way possible. The organization calls for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of all border crossings to provide humanitarian relief and put an end to the suffering.

  An interagency analysis report by the WFP, other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations affirmed the drastic situation and said, “the entire population of Gaza, roughly 2.2 million people, are in criss or worse levels of acute food insecurity. More than half a million people have completely exhausted their food supplies and face starvation.”

  The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X Friday, “Four out of five of the hungriest people anywhere in the world are in Gaza. As the conflict intensifies and the horror grows, we will continue to do our part. We will not give up.”

  On Friday, the Security Council adopted a resolution to increase aid for Gaza, where all parties “facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale” without calling for a ceasefire in the conflict. The resolution passed with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions, the United States and Russia.