A video claims to show dozens of aid trucks lined up at the border of the Gaza Strip having been blocked by the Israelis.
This is false. While there have been reports of aid trucks being held up at the border, the video used in the claim is from 2021 and shows a convoy that entered without incident.
The claim is the latest piece of historical footage purported to be linked to the current conflict in the Middle East.
The video shows a long line of ambulances and aid trucks backed up at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza and is being shared on Facebook as seen here, here, here, and here.
The posts’ captions link the footage to the current conflict, claiming: “Egypt: Israel blocked a huge humanitarian aid convoy for the Gaza Strip”.
The same footage is also being shared on a YouTube channel and has received nearly one million views, as seen here (video mark 2min 40sec), and here (video mark 1min 10sec).
While the video does show an Egyptian convoy carrying aid destined for Gaza, it is not from the current conflict, nor is there any indication the convoy was prevented or hindered from entering Gaza.
The video actually comes from footage shared on June 1, 2021, by Egypt’s Al Nahar television network.
The aid convoy was sent by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in May 2021 and was widely reported at the time as seen here, here and here.
That convoy came after 11 days of fighting between Israel and Gaza and a ceasefire negotiated by Egypt. According to the office of the Egyptian president and contemporary news reports, aid from Egypt was taken across the border into Gaza without incident.
Although the footage used in the claim is old, there have been reports of aid being held up at the Rafah border during the current conflict.
The crossing is the only border with Gaza that isn’t directly administered by Israel. But Israel monitors activity at the border and does have a say in what goes in and out.
From the early days of the conflict, Israel has been accused of blocking and delaying aid entering through the Rafah crossing.
Some, including Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, have said Israel’s aerial bombardment has made the crossing “inaccessible” and has held up aid arriving in Gaza.
The Human Rights Watch group has said the aid that is allowed to enter is short of the minimum needed.
Last month Israel said it would not prevent aid from arriving via the crossing, provided it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population.
The posts are the latest to portray old footage as being from the current conflict. AAP FactCheck has debunked others here, here, here, here and here.
The Verdict
The claim that a video shows dozens of aid trucks blocked at the Egypt-Gaza border crossing by the Israelis in 2023 is false.
A video being widely shared actually shows Egyptian aid sent to Gaza in May 2021, which was not blocked from entering the territory according to news reports.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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