Egypt remains committed to humanitarian duty towards Palestinians in Gaza: A high-level source

CAIRO – 25 May 2024: Despite the challenges posed by the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, Egypt remains committed to its humanitarian duty towards the people of the Gaza Strip by allowing humanitarian aid to enter to the strip, said a high-level source in comments to Al Qahera News on Saturday.

The source added that Egypt's deep-rooted humanitarian ties with the Palestinian people have driven it to apply all possible pressure on Israel to urgently facilitate the delivery of relief materials and fuel to Gaza.

Egypt will not stand idly by in the face of the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, another official told Al Qahera News on Friday evening.

The source added that Egypt is keen to alleviate the impact of the lack of aid by bringing it in through the Kerem Shalom crossing until the Rafah crossing returns to operating normally according to an agreed-upon mechanism.

‘Egypt is keen on the Palestinian issue and insists on not accepting the fait accompli policy that the other side is trying to impose’, the source said

It was added that the Rafah crossing is an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing, and Egypt will re-enter aid through a mechanism to be agreed upon in coordination with the Palestinian Authority.

The source said that Egypt will continue to confront any attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue or isolate the Gaza Strip from the world.

It was stressed that Egypt and the US agreed to temporarily bring in aid from the Kerem Shalom crossing, based on Egypt’s keenness to alleviate the aid shortage and to quickly find temporary solutions to bring fuel into the Gaza Strip to operate the hospitals that have stopped working.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi received on Friday a phone call from US President Joe Biden, during which they reviewed developments in the Gaza Strip.

The US president expressed his great appreciation for the intensive, diligent, and continuous Egyptian efforts and mediation to reach a ceasefire and a truce agreement in the Strip.

The two presidents agreed on the necessity of intensifying international efforts for the negotiation process to succeed and achieve a breakthrough that ends the protracted humanitarian tragedy that the Palestinian people are experiencing.

Sisi and Biden also discussed the dire humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life, as well as the lack of fuel needed to run hospitals and bakeries.

The two presidents agreed to deliver quantities of humanitarian aid and fuel to the United Nations at the Karam Abu Salem Crossing temporarily until a legal mechanism is reached to reoperate the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.

The call emphasized the necessity of concerted various efforts to implement the two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions. In addition, the two presidents affirmed their rejection of all attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land and expressed their support for all means aimed at preventing the aggravation and expansion of the conflict.