The Rafah crossing is the only crossing into Gaza that is not controlled by Israel, but it stopped working about two weeks ago when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
Israel bombed the Strip in response, worsening conditions for the 2.3 million people who have lived there under an Israeli-imposed siege since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
The White House said on Wednesday that it had been agreed to allow up to 20 trucks to enter through the crossing, with an eye toward introducing more trucks later.
However, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, David Satterfield, was still meeting Thursday with Israeli and Egyptian officials to “negotiate the fine details” of this agreement.
“We want to see sustained humanitarian aid entering Gaza for the benefit of innocent civilians,” Miller said.
He added that Israel has concerns that Hamas will divert aid, which Washington believes are legitimate concerns.
Diplomatic efforts to open the Rafah crossing accelerated, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received the top general supervising American forces in the Middle East, as well as Jordanian King Abdullah II. In Cairo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the delivery of aid on a large scale and on a sustainable basis.
On Saturday, Egypt will also host a summit on the Gaza crisis and the future of the Palestinian issue, which Guterres is expected to attend.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in a joint press conference with Guterres, “Egypt is actively seeking to restart the crossing and bring in the humanitarian aid accumulated in front of the Egyptian side to be distributed in the Gaza Strip, and that this entry be permanent, continuous and without interruption.”
The United Nations says that most of Gaza’s residents were dependent on aid before the current conflict began, and about 100 humanitarian aid trucks crossed the Strip daily.
Destructive ways
More than 100 trucks were waiting near the crossing on the Egyptian side on Thursday, but aid was not expected to enter until Friday, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters. More aid is waiting in the city of Al-Arish, located about 45 kilometers from Rafah.
Western governments conducted negotiations to evacuate holders of foreign passports from Gaza, which Egyptian officials conditional on allowing aid to enter Gaza. Details of the potential evacuation remain unclear.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, following talks with US President Joe Biden, that Israel will not prevent the entry of aid for civilians from Egypt into Gaza as long as those supplies do not reach Hamas.
He added that Israel will continue to prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza until the hostages held by Hamas are returned.
The Israeli bombing and siege of Gaza came in response to an attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, which caused the death of 1,400 people and the taking of hostages.
The death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rose to more than 3,500, with more than 12,000 injured, according to Palestinian health officials.
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