Lifeline 5 enters Gaza Strip amidst big jubilation

Lifeline 5 enters Gaza Strip amidst big jubilation

GAZA, Members of the lifeline 5 convoy have arrived Thursday to the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing point after the Egyptian authorities allowed them entry following marathon negotiations full of Egyptian preconditions.

Local Palestinian sources said that a couple of days is needed for the ship carrying the humanitarian assistance  anchoring in the Egyptian Al-Areesh port to unload the shipment before sending it to the besieged Strip through the Rafah crossing point.

An atmosphere of Jubilation was engulfing the activists once they stepped into the occupied  Palestine as many of them fell in prostration to Allah for enabling them achieve their mission.

"We are with you oh people of Gaza and Allah willing you will win and emerge victorious over your enemies", chanted the activists as they embrace Palestinian officials receiving them at the borders.

"Thanks to Allah that we arrived to Palestine and the land of Gaza after an exhausting five weeks of suffering, and we indeed enjoy  very high morale now in Gaza that deserve more than what we are doing for it", said one of the activist as he spoke to the PIC correspondent.

Well-informed sources confirmed that Qatar, which funded the transportation by air of the convoy’s activists mediated with the Egyptian authorities to allow the activists and the ship into AL-Areesh.

Egypt had imposed a number of preconditions on the activists and the ship to allow them into Gaza through Egypt, causing delay to the ship’s departure from  the Syrian port as scheduled, in addition to forcing the activists to travel by air to Egypt instead of accompanying the ship via sea.

Qatar, according to the sources, joined efforts with Syria to convince Egypt not to block the aid convoy. Egypt conceded at last to the two Arab countries mediation.

The ship carries around 140 truck and cars loaded with humanitarian assistance with the aim to alleviate the suffering of the 1.6 million Palestinians blockaded in the Strip for the fifth year now.

Organizers of the convoy  asserted that they want to deliver a message to the "civilized" world that the siege on Gaza must end immediately, and the will of the Palestinian people must be respected.