Egypt calls for relief of Gaza residents and reveals the truth about the Rafah crossing closure
Egyptian efforts race against time to alleviate the burden of the war on the residents of the Gaza Strip, in light of the tight Israeli closure of the region.
Egypt called on all countries and regional and international organizations willing to provide humanitarian and relief aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip to deliver that assistance to El-Arish International Airport.
In a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo explained that the authorities have designated El-Arish Airport to receive international humanitarian assistance from various parties and international organizations.
Egypt emphasized that this comes as a relief for the Palestinian people and a response to their suffering as a result of the violent and ongoing Israeli shelling.
Egypt stressed that “humanitarian responsibility and universal moral values require that people of conscience from all corners of the world should take the initiative to provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people who are facing great risks at the present time.”
On Monday, Israel imposed a complete closure on the Gaza Strip, as part of the ongoing war for the sixth consecutive day, which erupted following an attack by the Hamas movement on Israeli towns on Saturday.
Hamas attacks and those of other Palestinian factions have so far resulted in the killing of about 1,300 people and the capture of dozens on the Israeli side, while the war has claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 Palestinians.
Regarding the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which was subjected to Israeli shelling at the beginning of the war, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said: Contrary to inaccurate information that is not related to reality, the Rafah crossing is open and has not been closed at any stage since the beginning of the current crisis.
However, it added that “the basic facilities on the Palestinian side of the crossing were destroyed as a result of repeated Israeli shelling, preventing its normal operation.”
In this context, Egypt called on Israel to avoid targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing so that reconstruction and repair efforts can succeed in making it operate as a crossing and a lifeline to support the Palestinian brothers in the Strip.
