The Egyptian Foreign Ministry in Ismailia said on Monday that hundreds of tonnes of goods have been stranded in Gaza because Israel has not cooperated with the delivery of relief and the evacuation of foreign passport holders through the one entry it does not fully control.
According to Cairo, Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza side have rendered the Rafah crossing, a potentially key opening for desperately needed goods into the embattled Palestinian enclave, inoperable.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told reporters, “There is an urgent need to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” adding that talks with Israel had been fruitless.
“Until now the Israeli government has not taken a position on opening the Rafah crossing from the Gaza side to allow the entrance of assistance and exit of citizens of third countries.”
Since Israel began its heavy bombardment and blockade of Gaza in retaliation for an attack by the Hamas Fighters, more than 2 million people have been living under siege.
According to Reuters’ reporting, two Egyptian security sources have confirmed that a ceasefire in southern Gaza, expected to continue for several hours and allow relief and evacuations through Rafah, would take place on Monday morning.
Israel, meanwhile, has said it is not.
According to a statement sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, “there is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out.”
Izzat El-Reshiq, a Hamas official, confirmed this to Reuters.
One reliable source on the ground in Rafah reported that Monday saw no bombings and that the Egyptian side of the border was open for business. Shoukry stated that Egypt’s goal was to enable normal traffic through the crossing, which would benefit Palestinians who needed to get to the West Bank for medical care or travel.
Two sources in Al-Arish, Egypt, and a witness said that hundreds of tonnes of aid from NGOs and numerous countries were sitting in trucks in the area, waiting for conditions to allow passage to Gaza.
Separately, Israeli surveillance footage of the Kerem Shalom gate in Gaza showed what seemed to be UN-flagged fuel trucks leaving Gaza for Egypt.
