CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt has discussed plans with the United States and other countries to deliver humanitarian aid along the border with the Gaza Strip, but ruled out any move to establish a safe corridor for refugees fleeing the strip, Egyptian security sources said on Wednesday.
Gaza, a small coastal strip located between Israel to the north and east and Egypt to the southwest, is home to about 2.3 million people who have been under siege since the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas took control of the strip in 2007.
Egypt has long imposed restrictions on the flow of Gazans into its territory, even during the most violent clashes.
Cairo, a frequent mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, has always insisted that both sides resolve their border disputes as the only way to guarantee the Palestinians their right to statehood.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that life-saving supplies, including fuel, food and water, should be allowed into Gaza.
“We now need humanitarian aid to arrive immediately and without obstacles,” he told reporters, “thanking Egypt for its constructive participation in the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing and making Al-Arish airport available for aid. Essential”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric later said: “Civilians need protection. We don’t want to see a mass exodus from Gaza.”
The US is consulting with Israel and Egypt on the idea of safe passage for civilians in Gaza, which has come under a wide-ranging Israeli offensive in response to deadly attacks by Hamas militants, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday. In Israel at night.
A security source, who asked not to be named, said Egypt rejected the idea of establishing a safe corridor for civilians to protect “the Palestinian people’s right to follow their cause and their land.”
Many Arab countries still have camps for Palestinian refugees who are descendants of those who fled their homes when Israel was founded in 1948. The Palestinians and other Arab countries have said that a final peace deal must include the right of return for these refugees. to Israel. Always rejected.
A limited ceasefire
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during a meeting in Cairo that Egypt was intensifying its efforts to control the situation in Gaza.
According to Egyptian security sources, talks between Egypt, the US, Qatar and Turkey discussed the idea of providing humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing in Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in light of the ceasefire. – Geographically limited fires.
The crossing, the main exit point from Gaza, which is not under Israeli control, has been closed since Tuesday following Israeli fire from the Palestinian side, according to Gaza officials and Egyptian sources.
Egypt made repeated statements this week that an Israeli attack on Gaza would likely result in the displacement of the Strip’s population into Egyptian territory.
Responding to a question about the possibility of displacement after Tajani’s visit, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said: “Egypt is interested in opening the Rafah crossing to provide humanitarian aid, food and medicine, but instability and conflict continue to spread. For more suffering and displacement.” “More refugees to safe areas including Europe.”
(Additional reporting by Omar Abdel Razzaq, Ahmed Al-Imam and Michelle Nichols – Prepared by Najla for Arabic Bulletin) Written by Aidan Lewis. Editing by Alison Williams and Toby Chopra
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