First aid rolls into Gaza devastated by war

RAFAH, Oct 21 (Agencies): The first aid trucks arrived in the war-torn Gaza Strip from Egypt on Saturday, bringing humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave suffering what the UN chief labelled a "godawful nightmare".

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group carried out the deadliest attack in the country's history on October 7.

It's two weeks since Hamas launched its assault on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people. Palestinian officials say more than 4,000 people have died in Gaza since then

And the leaders of Arab and European countries are meeting in Egypt to discuss the crisis, but expectations are low because key players  like Iran - and Israel itself - aren't attending

Israel has retaliated with a heavy bombing campaign on Gaza that has killed thousands and cut food, water, electricity and fuel supplies to the densely populated and long-blockaded territory of 2.4 million people, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

AFP journalists on Saturday saw 20 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent, which is responsible for delivering aid from various UN agencies, pass through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into Gaza.

The crossing -- the only one into Gaza not controlled by Israel -- closed again after the trucks passed.

The lorries had been waiting for days on the Egyptian side after Israel agreed to allow aid to enter following a request from its top ally the United States.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the convoy "must not be the last" and that the delivery would start "a sustainable effort to provide essential supplies" to Gaza.

UN officials say at least 100 trucks daily are needed and that any aid operation must be sustainable at scale - a tall order now with Israel carrying out devastating bombardments of the enclave day and night.

Before the outbreak of conflict, an average of about 450 aid trucks were arriving daily in Gaza.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Friday that the aid was "the difference between life and death" for many Gazans, more than one million of whom have been displaced.

"Much more" aid needs to be sent, he told a peace summit in Egypt on Saturday.

Israel's military campaign against Hamas has levelled entire city blocks in Gaza, killing more than 4,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israeli troops are massed on the Gaza border ahead of an expected ground invasion that officials have pledged will begin "soon".

As international tensions soar, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was hosting a peace summit in Cairo on Saturday attended by regional and some Western leaders.

"The time has come for action to end this godawful nightmare," Guterres told the summit, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire".

The region "is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice", he added.

Egypt, historically a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, has urged "restraint" and called to restart long-frozen peace talks.

But diplomatic efforts to end the violence have made little headway, with Israel and its enemy Iran, a supporter of Hamas and other armed groups, among those absent from the Cairo talks.

A full-blown Israeli land offensive carries many risks, including to the more than 200 hostages Hamas took during their raid and whose fate is shrouded in uncertainty.

So the release of the first two hostages -- US mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan -- offered a rare "sliver of hope", said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

US President Joe Biden said he was "overjoyed" and thanked Qatar, which hosts Hamas' political bureau, for its mediation in securing the release.

He said he was working "around the clock" to win the return of other Americans being held.

Natalie Raanan's half-brother Ben told the BBC he felt an "overwhelming sense of joy" at the release after "the most horrible of ordeals".

Hamas said Egypt and Qatar had negotiated the release and it was "working with all mediators to implement the movement's decision to close the civilian (hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow".

Traumatised families with loved ones missing in Gaza demanded more action.

"Absolutely nothing has been done," Assaf Shem Tov, whose nephew was abducted from a music festival where hundreds were killed by Hamas, said Friday.

"We ask humanity to interfere and bring back all those young boys, young girls, mothers, babies."

In Gaza, Israeli jets continued the relentless bombing campaign, with the military saying it hit more than 100 Hamas targets overnight.

Almost half of Gaza's residents have been displaced, according to the United Nations.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Saturday that 17 staff have been confirmed killed in the war, warning the actual numbers "are likely to be higher".