At Egypt’s Rafah crossing, UN chief reaffirms call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

CAIRO – 23 March 2024: “Now more than ever, it is time for an immediate ceasefire and the time to silence the guns,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at Egypt’s Rafah border crossing on Saturday.

He added that the holy month of Ramadan is a time for spreading the values of compassion, and peace, but for the people in the Gaza Strip is often marred by continued suffering.  “This year, I came in Rafah in the holy month of Ramadan to participate the hardship and pain with the Palestinians of Gaza,” he said.

While the Palestinians observe Ramadan, they endure the ongoing bombings by Israel and face numerous obstacles in receiving humanitarian aid, he added.

It is the time for ceasing fire and it is the time of “ironclad commitment” by Israel to allow access of humanitarian aid and the time of releasing all captives,” he continued.

UN Chief also called upon all UN members to support the international organization’s efforts, saying that the organization is looking forward to cooperation with Egypt to continue the entry of humanitarian aid. He appreciated the Egyptian cooperation for the Palestinian people.

There is no justification for Hamas’ attacks on the 7th of October and no justification for the collective punishment by Israel against the Palestinians of Gaza, he said.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations arrived in Egypt on Saturday morning to re-call for an immediate for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He also, there, held a meeting with relief teams working in the Gaza Strip.

On October 20, 2023, nearly two weeks after Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip, the UN Chief emphasized the urgent necessity for life-saving aid to promptly reach Gaza.

"They are the difference between life and death for so many people,” he said, referring to the humanitarian aid trucks waiting near the border in Egypt.

“Behind these walls, we have two million people that is suffering enormously - that has no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel, that is under fire, that needs everything to survive,” he said in his speech at the border crossing on October 20, 2023.

On Friday, El Arish International Airport received two aid aircraft dispatched to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s state-owned news agency MENa reported.

 The first aircraft arrived from the UAE, carrying 20 tons of food, relief items, and medical aid, MENA reported a source at El Arish airport. The second aircraft, originating from Russia, delivered 29 tons of relief and food supplies, the same source confirmed.

The Egyptian Red Crescent announced on March 19, 2024, the arrival of 72 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and fuel to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Border Crossing. Despite the significant need, only a small number of aid trucks were able to enter the strip, where nearly two million people require at least 500 aid trucks daily.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and imposed a complete blockade on it amid its ongoing bombings against the Strip, where so far over 32,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed. Additionally, more than 700,000 Palestinians are suffering from acute starvation and malnutrition caused by the Israeli besiege despite the little humanitarian aid that has hardly been delivered to the strip.