Egypt is being urged to take action as Gaza, which is located nearby, is getting heavily attacked by Israel. This is happening because of the violent attack that Hamas carried out in Israel on October 7th.
After Hamas attacked, Israel stopped people from going in or out of Gaza and stopped them from getting fuel, electricity and water.
This means that the Rafah crossing is the only way for people to leave Gaza and for supplies to come into it.
However, the crossing has been shut for most of the previous week. Both people from Gaza and foreigners are unable to go across. Additionally, a large amount of important aid for the people in Gaza is accumulating on the Egyptian side of the border.
An official from Palestine said to CNN that Egypt closed the gates of the border by using concrete blocks. Egypt said that reports of them closing their side of the crossing are not true. They also mentioned that the Palestinian side of the crossing was damaged by Israeli airstrikes many times.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, said to CNN on Saturday that while the crossing was open, the roads on the Gaza side were not working because of bombings from the air.
The Biden administration spoke with Israel and Egypt to make sure that Americans and other people can leave Gaza safely.
But Egypt is worried about the idea of many Palestinian refugees coming to live in the country, especially since there are already many migrants there. Over two million Palestinians live in Gaza, a crowded coastal area that is being heavily bombed by Israel.
Israel’s military wants the 1. 1 million people living in northern Gaza to leave their homes and go south, says the United Nations. Israel also has 300,000 reserve soldiers at the border, which suggests they may plan to attack on the ground.
Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and caused the death of 1,300 people. In response, Israel retaliated and has killed 2,329 people in Gaza. As the fighting gets worse and Israel blocks important things from getting in, organizations that protect people’s rights are worried that a big disaster might happen to the people in need.
There are people and things that are unable to cross the border.
Usually, very few people can pass through the Rafah crossing. Only people from Gaza who have permission and foreigners are allowed to use it to go between Gaza and Egypt. However, the border has been completely closed off recently.
Western countries are trying hard to open the crossing in Gaza and get their citizens out. The United States told its citizens in the area to go to Rafah if the crossing opens and they can do so safely.
At the same time, many Palestinians from other countries came to the border, but they had to wait on the streets for a long time, said the Palestinian border official on Saturday.
“Sorry, the crossing is not open. ” The official said that no traveler, whether they have Arab or foreign residency or not, is allowed to cross the border.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that Egypt agreed to let Americans pass through Rafah. However, Hamas prevented a group of these Americans from crossing.
A news channel called Alqahera News, which is controlled by the government, said on Saturday that Egypt is not allowing people from the US and other countries to use the crossing. This is because there is no agreement yet about helping the strip with aid, according to sources from Egypt.
At the same time, aid is being sent to Egypt and diplomatic efforts are being made to help people in Gaza.
Helpful planes from Jordan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the World Health Organization, and the Red Cross have reached the Egyptian city of El-Arish. This city is around 45 kilometers (23 miles) away from Rafah. This news was shown on Egyptian state television on Saturday.
According to an official from the Egyptian Red Crescent, they have lots of supplies in their warehouses to help people in need. They have also made arrangements to store more aid in the El-Arish stadium.
According to Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of WHO, a plane from the World Health Organization arrived in Egypt on Saturday. The plane was carrying medical supplies. However, the group is still waiting to be allowed to pass through the border for humanitarian reasons.
Shoukry explained that Egypt has attempted to send help to Gaza, but they haven’t been given the right permission to do it.
Egypt announced on Sunday that it will work harder to assist relief organizations in providing aid to Gaza. However, the Egyptian presidency made it clear that protecting national security is of utmost importance and cannot be compromised.
During a military graduation ceremony, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi compared the current situation in his country to a house surrounded by a neighborhood that is engulfed in flames. He said that rumors about Egypt not wanting to help the Palestinians are not true.
“We are ensuring that assistance, such as medical or humanitarian help, reaches the strip during this challenging period,” Sisi stated. He also expressed his sympathy.
However, he cautioned that there are only certain things Egypt can do to offer assistance.
Of course we understand and feel sorry for you. But we need to be cautious and think wisely in order to achieve peace and safety without spending too much, he said. Egypt already has 9 million migrants living there. The biggest groups in the country’s migrant population come from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Libya, as stated in a report by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration in 2022.
Egypt’s government said that Israel’s request for people to leave their homes is against the rules of how to treat people in a time of war. They said that this would risk the lives of over 1 million Palestinians.
The Jordanian official said to CNN on Thursday that Jordan and Egypt are putting pressure on the Israeli government to let aid go into Gaza through the Rafah crossing.
Egyptian media outlets are worried about the idea of letting Palestinian refugees come into the country. They are afraid it could cause Gazans to be moved out of Sinai against their will.
Sisi agreed with those feelings on Thursday. He said that there is a big danger for Gaza which could bring an end to the Palestinian cause. It is important for the people of Gaza to stay strong and keep living on their land.
Jordan’s King Abdullah met with Blinken on Friday. He cautioned against any efforts to remove or displace Palestinians from their territories.
Most of the people living in Gaza today are Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when Israel took control of their land. The war that happened resulted in the creation of Israel. However, Palestinians feel very sad about it and call it the Nakba, which means “catastrophe. ” This is because over 700,000 Palestinians were either kicked out or had to run away from their homes in what is now Israel.
Many thousands of Palestinians went to live in Gaza after the war when it came under the control of Egypt. Israel took control of a piece of land from Egypt during the war in 1967 and started moving Jewish people there. However, in 2005, Israel removed its soldiers and settlements from that area.