Egypt’s multiple-front efforts to alleviate suffering in Gaza

CAIRO - 23 October 2024: Egypt has repeatedly warned of an explosive event such as Oct. 7 as long as the Palestinian question is not answered, even amid normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries. 

Soon after Oct. 7, Egypt was also one of the first countries to warn against the escalation of violence outside of Gaza. Violence has expanded to the West Bank, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon. 

Palestinian state on international stage

One of the very first conferences on Gaza was held in Egypt on Oct. 21, which was attended by many regional and international leaders. In the conference, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi tackled the discrepancies of the dealings of the international community when it comes to Palestinian and Israeli lives, and the war on Gaza versus the war on Ukraine. He highlighted the siege on Gaza, collective punishment, and the targeting of civilians very early on. 

Since then, Egypt has brought up the Palestinian cause on every international stage and at every forum, calling for a ceasefire and allowing aid into the besieged strip, slamming the targeting of civilians and their infrastructure, and mentioning specific atrocities committed by Israel, such as genocide and using starvation as a weapon of war, as well as deliberately impeding the flow of aid. 

Despite the gruesome nature of the war, Egypt has seized the opportunity to bring the two-state solution back on the table to regain momentum for a Palestinian state after years of stagnation and marginalization of the whole issue of some seven million Palestinians in Palestinian Territories and others living as refugees in the diaspora. 

Displacing Palestinians: A red line

By default, Egypt also warned of displacing the Palestinians of Gaza into Sinai or elsewhere, an idea that Egypt has rejected since 1948 and is why there is not a Palestinian refugee camp in Egypt. 

It also made it clear that it would not allow refugees in Sinai to be a reason for Israel to attack the peninsula, as it has done once and again in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan and occupied some of their territories under the same premise. 

Egypt’s insistence on keeping Palestinians in their lands after Israel and other powers floated the idea has prompted world leaders and diplomats to make public stances against that Israeli effort. However, some Israeli officials and hardline civil society leaders still make statements on other “world countries” taking in the Palestinians. 

Rafah border crossing turned lifeline 

In terms of humanitarian aid, Egypt kept the Rafah border crossing operational 24/7 since October 2023, becoming the largest contributor of aid to Gaza and a hub for international aid to cross to the Palestinians in desperate need. 

According to the State Information Service (SIS), 80% of all aid that flows into Gaza is Egyptian aid provided by the civil society and the government. 

In an April 7 statement by SIS, 19.9 tons of medical aid entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing, in addition to 10.4 tons of fuel, 123 tons of foods, 26.6 tons of water, 2 tons of tents, 123 equipped ambulances, and 44 tons of other sustenance supplies since October 2023. 

Dozens of regional and international officials have visited the Rafah border crossing to witness Egypt’s efforts around the clock to deliver the aid through a crossing meant for travelers, rather than goods. Officials at the borders also showed visitors how any delay is caused by Israel, which inspects the aid before it goes in. 

Most of the international officials held press conferences at the border, praising Egypt’s efforts on the ground. 

As for northern Gaza, Egypt’s Air Force has dropped tons more of aid on the area due to Israel’s intransigence in allowing aid and food therein. 

However, in May, Israel occupied the entire Philadelphia Corridor, including the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and destroyed much of its infrastructure, hindering the passage of people and aid even further. 

Prior to that, thousands of Palestinians crossed into Egypt to receive treatment in the country or in other counties that have offered to treat them. Dual citizens also crossed in their thousands to flee to safety. 

According to a Tuesday statement by the Palestinian embassy in Cairo, some 100,000 Palestinians have arrived in Egypt since Oct. 7 last year. This figure includes about 13,000 students who enrolled in Egyptian universities and institutes, as well as 10,000 injured Palestinians being treated in government-owned hospitals. 

Two-level mediation

Egypt has also mediated between Israel and Hamas from the very beginning. A total of 105 Israelis were released from Gaza in exchange for 240 Palestinians in Israeli prisons and a humanitarian truce was reached in November. Along with Qatar, Egypt has since been active in mediation, where the U.S. has praised the Egyptian efforts several times throughout the year. 
 

Egyptian mediation has not been exclusive to negotiations between Hamas and Israel. On Oct. 8 this year, delegations from Hamas and Fatah arrived in Egypt to discuss reconciliation and unity. 

On a different front, Egypt in May announced it would join South Africa’s case against Israel before the International Court of Justice. It had already testified in favor of South Africa before the world’s top court. 

Thus far, the ICJ ruled in January that Israel’s committing of a genocide is “plausible,” and also ruled in June that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, “illegal.”