Egypt Foreign Ministry debunks 10 false claims on Rafah crossing, aid delivery into Gaza - Foreign Affairs

Al-Ahram Weekly

3 days ago

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has debunked 10 circulated allegations targeting Egypt regarding the Rafah crossing and the access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
An infographic posted by the foreign ministry on its Facebook page on Thursday listed 10 false and true statements.
Claim 1: Egypt has failed to provide aid to the Gaza Strip.
Fact: This is a deliberate misrepresentation. Egypt has provided 70 percent of the total humanitarian aid that has entered Gaza since the beginning of the war.
Egypt organized an international ministerial conference on the humanitarian response in Gaza in December 2024, with the participation of more than 100 delegations, to support the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.
Egypt received hundreds of injured and sick Palestinians in Egyptian hospitals. Egypt prepared a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza.
It has successfully mobilized support from the vast majority of countries and intends to organize an international conference to mobilize the necessary funding for its implementation.
The complete Israeli blockade on Gaza has prevented aid from reaching the strip at a level commensurate with the scale of the humanitarian disaster.
Claim 2: Rafah Crossing is a one-sided crossing controlled by Egypt.
Fact: It is a false claim. The crossing consists of a gate on the Egyptian side and another gate on the Palestinian side, separated by a road.
Crossing the gate on the Egyptian side does not constitute crossing the border between the two sides and does not provide access to the Gaza Strip. Access to the strip requires crossing the distance between the two gates and entering through the Palestinian gate for trucks and individuals.
This has been impossible since the Israeli army occupied the Palestinian side of the crossing and completely prevented the passage of individuals and trucks, in addition to targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing militarily more than once.
Claim 3: Egypt has closed the Rafah Crossing.
Fact: This is a false claim. The crossing has not been closed on the Egyptian side since the beginning of the brutal war in Gaza.
The Rafah Crossing gate on the Egyptian side is open, but the closure of the Palestinian gate prevents the entry of aid (there is no possibility of entering Gaza except through the Palestinian gate).
Although the Rafah crossing is designated for the passage of individuals only, not trucks, Egypt has been able to allow thousands of trucks through it since the start of the war to expedite the delivery of aid.
Claim 4: Egypt is participating in the blockade of Gaza.
Fact: This is a deliberate lie. The Israeli occupation army completely besieges the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air and controls all entry points into the Strip.
Claim 5: The Rafah crossing is the only exit point for the Gaza Strip.
Fact: This is incorrect. There are several other crossings in Gaza, such as the Karm Abu Salem crossing, the Erez crossing, the Sufa crossing, the Nahal Oz crossing, the Karni crossing, and the Kissufim crossing, all of which are fully controlled by Israel.
Israel, the occupying power, obstructs the entry of any humanitarian aid through all the crossings it controls, including the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
Those who claim that Egypt is responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip should demand pressure on Israel to open all the crossings it controls.
Claim 6: Egypt prevents public solidarity with Gaza.
Fact: This is a false claim. Egypt has organized and facilitated visits to the Rafah and Arish crossings for numerous citizens and officials from humanitarian organizations, as well as for senior international officials.
This included the UN Secretary-General and French President Macron, whose visit contributed to France's decision to recognize the Palestinian state.
Egypt has also organized visits for foreign ministers, senior officials, and civil society representatives.
Additionally, there are rules and regulations for conducting solidarity visits to these border areas based on the facts on the ground, given their proximity to a war zone and the need to take special measures to secure and protect participants in any marches or visits there.
Claim 7: Egypt failed to support the Palestinian cause.
Fact: This is a deliberate slander and lie. No country in the world has made as much effort or sacrifice for the Palestinian cause as Egypt.
Egypt has played a key role as a mediator in the difficult and complex ceasefire negotiations, and its efforts succeeded in achieving this on 19 January 2025.
However, Israel failed to fulfill its commitments. Egypt hosted the Cairo Peace Summit in October 2023 and the emergency Arab Summit in March 2025. It prepared a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which contributed to halting displacement plans.
It also played a leading role in coordinating Arab, Islamic, and international action on the Palestinian issue.
Claim 8: Demonstrations in front of Egyptian embassies support the Palestinian cause.
Fact: On the contrary, demonstrations in front of Egyptian embassies undermine Egypt's historical role in supporting the Palestinian cause and the sacrifices Egypt has made since the Nakba.
They serve the Israeli occupation entirely, offering it a free gift. This contributes to distracting international and Arab public opinion from the real culprit behind the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and easing the recent mounting international pressure to halt the blatant Israeli violations committed against the Palestinian people.
It also diverts attention from the crimes the Palestinian people are suffering and targets Egypt, as the steadfast, fundamental pillar defending the rights of the Palestinian people.
This severely harms the Palestinian struggle for independence and creates division among the Arab peoples, to the benefit of Israel.
Claim 9: Egypt is not keen on stopping the famine in Gaza.
Fact: This is an illogical claim. The entry of humanitarian aid is not only a moral, humanitarian, and legal duty but also serves the national interest by strengthening the Palestinian people, ensuring their steadfastness on their land, preventing their displacement, and preventing the implementation of 'alternative homeland' scenarios by starving the population to empty the land.
Bringing in the largest possible amount of aid is a top priority for Egypt, primarily for moral and humanitarian reasons, and also to ensure an end to Israeli displacement plans and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause by forcing the Palestinian people to leave their land.
Claim 10: Criticizing the Egyptian role aims to alleviate the suffering in Gaza.
Fact: There are deliberate attempts to systematically distort and cast doubt on the Egyptian role, and to deliberately falsify facts with the aim of undermining Egypt's role, frustrating the Arab peoples, creating divisions among them, and weakening Palestinian resilience.
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