Egypt leads Palestinian assistance drive - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tamim Khallaf indicated this week that Egypt is moving on three parallel tracks to help the Palestinians suffering from war and siege in Gaza.
'There is the security track, which includes efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire and truce, the political track which involves continuing to mobilise international support for recognition of the Palestinian state, and the humanitarian track, which aims to ensure the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip despite the obstacles imposed by Israel,' Khallaf said.
He strongly denied that the Rafah Crossing linking Egypt with the Gaza Strip is closed, denouncing a 'malicious propaganda campaign' trying to distort Egypt's role in supporting the Palestinian cause. 'Egypt has never closed the Rafah Crossing on its side, and it has led a drive to secure a ceasefire and deliver aid while rejecting the displacement of the Palestinians,' Khallaf said.
In recent days, posts have circulated on social media accusing Cairo of contributing to the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip by preventing the entry of humanitarian aid through the Rafah Crossing.
In response, the Foreign Ministry said it is fully aware of the attempts led by some malicious organisations (thought to include the Muslim Brotherhood) trying to distract Arab and international public opinion from the real reasons behind the humanitarian disaster that has afflicted more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.
'In fact, the Rafah Crossing has never been closed on the Egyptian side, but the crossing on the Palestinian side is occupied by the Israeli army, which blocks the flow of aid into the Strip,' said the Foreign Ministry.
The Rafah Crossing is an economic and security gateway on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip and the exit of travellers and wounded Palestinians.
When the Israeli army took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing on 2 March, Egypt announced it would not coordinate with it in order not to avoid legitimising its occupation. The Israeli forces have prevented the entry of aid, fuel, civil defence supplies and shelter for the displaced who have lost their homes in Gaza. They have also refused to bring in the heavy equipment necessary for removing the rubble and carrying out reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.
President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi explained in a televised speech on Monday that the Rafah Crossing is a gateway for individuals and is operating not only from the Egyptian side but also from the other side.
He noted that the Gaza Strip is in need of 600 to 700 trucks of humanitarian aid every day. 'Over the past 21 months, Egypt has been keen to bring the largest volume of humanitarian assistance into the Strip through the Rafah Crossing,' Al-Sisi said, indicating that 'the volume of trucks ready to enter the Gaza Strip in the next days is very large, and for these trucks to flow without obstacles there should be coordination with the other party.'
'This is just part of what we are doing, including stopping the war, and releasing the hostages,' Al-Sisi said.
Al-Sisi called on US President Donald Trump and other world leaders to intervene swiftly to end the war in Gaza and allow the entry of humanitarian aid. He warned that conditions in the Strip have become 'tragic and intolerable' in recent months.
The entry of aid to Gaza was resumed in May according to a mechanism implemented by the occupation authorities and a US security company, despite the rejection of this by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Negotiations are underway through the efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and the US to reinstate the truce, stop the war on Gaza, bring in humanitarian aid, and release prisoners and detainees.
Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli stressed this week that 'the Rafah Crossing has never been closed by Egypt and the state is making every effort to bring aid into the Gaza Strip.'
'As much as 80 per cent of the aid that has entered the Gaza Strip so far has been contributed by the Egyptian government and civil society organisations,' he said.
Egypt's Cairo News Channel reported that 180 aid trucks carrying various types of aid were brought into Gaza early this week, including 137 carrying flour while the rest contained other food supplies.
They entered the Gaza Strip through the Zikim Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip and the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Egypt.
On Sunday, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) launched a convoy of more than 100 humanitarian aid trucks carrying more than 1,200 tons of food supplies to Gaza.
The ERC posted photographs of the convoy, dubbed 'Zad Al-Izzah' (Provision of Honour), while moving towards the enclave. The aid comprised around 840 tons of flour and 450 tons of various food supplies bound for southern Gaza.
It said that more than 35,000 aid trucks carrying over 500,000 tons of aid have entered Gaza since the war erupted in October 2023. Assistance has included food, water, medical supplies, and essential items such personal hygiene products, baby formula, and diapers, as well as ambulances and fuel trucks.
Official statistics show that around 105,000 Gazan Palestinians have entered Egypt since 2023 to receive medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
The delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza this week came after the Israeli army declared a 10-hour 'truce' during which military operations were suspended in three areas of the Gaza Strip: Gaza City in the north; Deir Al-Balah in the centre; and Khan Younis in the south.
The pause in military activity will take place from 10am to 8pm each day until further notice, the Israeli army said. Most media outlets agree that pressure exerted by the UN, Egypt, and Qatar compelled Israel to allow the delivery of aid through the Rafah Crossing and to declare a 10-hour truce.
The Gaza government's Media Office, however, said on Monday evening that Israel had allowed no more than 87 aid trucks into the Strip, the majority of which were looted and stolen.
It indicated that the occupation forces had opened the way for the trucks to enter, only for them to fall into the hands of criminal gangs and thieves under their direct protection.
North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer said the trucks that departed from the Rafah Land Port in North Sinai this week were part of Egypt's ongoing efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
'All the Egyptian state authorities are working around the clock to coordinate efforts to deliver as much aid as possible to the besieged Palestinians in Gaza,' Megawer said.
He indicated that in addition to the humanitarian aid given by the Egyptian Red Crescent, the Al-Azhar-affiliated Beit Al-Zakat (House of Alms) also sent a relief convoy carrying hundreds of tons of food and medical supplies plus 1,000 tents to shelter Palestinians who have lost their homes during the war.
Former foreign minister and chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs Mohamed Al-Orabi stressed that Egypt's role and contributions to efforts to find a solution to the Palestinian problem are well-known.
'It is Egypt that has stood firmly against all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause and disrupted Israeli schemes for displacing the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip,' Al-Orabi said, noting that 'the queues of humanitarian aid trucks standing in front of the Rafah Crossing, waiting for Israel to allow them to enter, clearly confirms the falsity of what some parties are promoting, claiming that the crossing is closed on the Egyptian side or that Egypt has to open the crossing by force even if it means war with Israel.'
He added that the dubious calls for gatherings in front of Egyptian embassies abroad are merely a 'bubble' that will soon disappear.
Al-Orabi said there is no question that the banned Muslim Brotherhood group is ready to participate in the campaign against Egypt. 'The entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza this week confirmed to all that this group is lying and that it is not Egypt that is closing the Rafah Crossing, but it is Israel that has occupied the Palestinian side of the crossing since March and prevented any flow of aid,' Al-Orabi said.
MP Mahmoud Hussein, head of the Central Secretariat for Egyptians Abroad, said the banned Muslim Brotherhood's lies about the Rafah Crossing and its calls for demonstrations in front of Egyptian embassies abroad aim to politicise the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.
'This group's calls are intended to secure internal political gains rather than hold Israel accountable or to put it under international pressure to end the war,' Hussein said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 August, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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