CAIRO / ISTANBUL 

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel visited the Rafah border crossing from the Egyptian side on Tuesday, expressing hope that US President Donald Trump’s plan will help fully reopen the terminal to ease the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Van Weel toured the crossing, where thousands of trucks loaded with medical and food supplies are waiting for permission to enter Gaza, the Egyptian state news agency MENA said.

During the visit, he received a detailed briefing from North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer and Red Crescent officials on the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Speaking at a press conference at the crossing, van Weel voiced “deep concern” over the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and praised Egypt’s role in facilitating the entry of aid and medical evacuations, according to Egyptian media reports.

He expressed hope that Trump’s plan would “improve conditions on the ground and fully reopen the crossing from the Palestinian side to allow a smoother flow of aid.”

The Dutch minister began his visit by inspecting operations at the Rafah crossing to monitor the delivery of humanitarian and relief assistance to Gaza, Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel reported.

His itinerary includes a visit to El Arish General Hospital to check on injured Palestinians being treated in Egypt, as well as logistics hubs at El Arish Airport, which has received more than 1,030 aid flights carrying over 27,000 tons of relief supplies since the war began two years ago, according to the channel.

The El Arish port has also received numerous ships loaded with thousands of tons of relief goods. The supplies are first stored in logistics warehouses, then transported overland to the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings before being delivered inside Gaza.

Earlier Tuesday, van Weel described Trump’s plan as a “historic opportunity” to end the war in Gaza during a joint press conference in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

The visit came as Hamas and Israel held a second day of indirect negotiations in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap deal under Trump’s plan.

On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point proposal that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and the rebuilding of Gaza. Hamas agreed to the plan in principle.

The Israeli military has killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and has led to mass displacement, starvation, and the proliferation of disease.