Egypt provided more than 70% of aid entering Gaza, FM

CAIRO – 8 July 2024:  Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdel Atti, said on Monday that UNRWA’s role is not limited to the Gaza Strip, but includes caring for the affairs of Palestinian refugees everywhere, pointing out that UNRWA’s work does not end until the Palestinian refugees obtain their rights.

Abdel Atti indicated in a joint press conference with the Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini that the use of famine as a weapon in the Gaza Strip undermines the credibility of the international community, calling on the international community and donor parties to reconsider funding the agency, noting that Egypt provided more than 70% of the aid that entered to Gaza Strip.

He pointed out that Egypt continues to provide full support to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, explaining that there is no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza, as it is the only agency that has aid distribution centers in the Strip, pointing out that Egyptian hospitals receive many injured Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini confirmed that UNRWA institutions in Gaza have been the target of Israeli military operations since the beginning of the war, pointing out that there is no safe place in Gaza and the fire must be ceased as soon as possible, noting that 2,000 UN employees were killed in Gaza in the war so far.

Lazzarini indicated that the agency is being subjected to a campaign aimed at dismantling it and undermining its role in the Gaza Strip, stressing that 250,000 Palestinians were displaced from Khan Yunis this week in the absence of a safe place in the Gaza Strip.

“An entire generation may be deprived of education in the Gaza Strip after the destruction of most schools,” Lazzarini said.

Abdel Atti received on Monday the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Lazzarini as they discussed ways to support the agency’s work and humanitarian relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, and the challenges of the humanitarian situation in the Strip, Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on X account.