Malaysia hails Egypt’s role in facilitating aid delivery to Gaza people

CAIRO – 14 October 2023: Malaysia hailed Egypt’s important role to continuously facilitate safe and effective delivery of humanitarian aid and relief to the Palestinian people in Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.

In a statement on Friday, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Malaysia supports Egypt's call for an immediate cessation of attacks on the Salah Al-Din Gate on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.

This is necessary to ensure the prompt delivery of humanitarian supplies to the affected people in Gaza, the ministry added.

“Malaysia stands ready to join international efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and relief supplies with full facilitation from the Government of Egypt through the Rafah-Gaza crossing checkpoints,” the ministry added.

The Rafah-Gaza border serves as an essential channel for the uninterrupted flow of essential supplies, which are vital for the survival of Palestinians who are currently experiencing severe shortages due to the Israeli blockade.

Over the past days, Al-Arish in Egypt’s northern Sinai received tons of urgent humanitarian aid from many countries to be delivered to the Palestinian people in Gaza, who total more than 2 million people.

Gaza has been under heavy Israeli bombardment over the past week, which killed around 1,900 Palestinians according to the strip authorities.

Moreover, the Israeli army reportedly prepares for a major ground invasion into Gaza, which can lead to further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the enclave.

Since the start of the current conflict, Egypt has been calling for both sides of the conflict to prioritize de-escalation and exercise utmost restraint.

Egypt has also made intensive contacts with international influential parties as well the Palestinian and Israeli sides to contain the situation.

Egypt has warned of the conflict’s consequences on the lives of Palestinian and Israeli civilians and its potential risks on the region’s security and stability.

Moreover, Egypt has stressed keenness to provide aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.

In a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt has been keen to open the Rafah crossing to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and will continue to secure aid to Palestinians.