Ibrahim al-Khazen
24 January 2024•Update: 24 January 2024
CAIRO
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accused Israel on Wednesday of hindering the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
“The Rafah crossing is open around the clock, but the Israeli measures are the reason for the limited entry of aid into Gaza,” Sisi said during a ceremony at the Police Academy in Cairo as cited by the state news agency MENA.
Israel has imposed a crippling siege on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, leaving Palestinians struggling with catastrophic humanitarian conditions amid a severe shortage of food, water, medicine and fuel.
Up to 200 trucks have been able to enter Gaza each day, according to the White House. That is a fraction of the roughly 500 shipments that entered daily prior to the start of the war when needs were far less acute.
Israel blames Egypt for restricting access to humanitarian aid into Gaza, an accusation denied by Cairo.
Egypt’s Rafah crossing is Gaza’s only window to the outside world that is not controlled by Israel.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Palestinian enclave following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 25,700 people and injuring 63,740 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala
