Blinken Urges Egypt To Facilitate Humanitarian Aid to Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Egypt on Wednesday to ensure humanitarian aid flows into Gaza, as food and medicine pile up on the Egyptian side. Blinken addressed the issue during a House of Representatives hearing, emphasizing the need for Egypt to facilitate aid through the Rafah crossing, which remains closed after Israel’s military seized it on May 7.
Despite fighting near the crossing, Blinken suggested that aid could still be delivered through the Kerem Shalom crossing. “We need to find a way to make sure that the assistance that would go through Rafah can get through safely, but we do strongly urge our Egyptian partners to do everything that they can on their end of things to make sure that assistance is flowing,” Blinken stated.
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Israel’s ongoing retaliation against Hamas in Gaza, following a brutal October 7 attack by Palestinian terrorists, has disrupted aid access into southern Gaza. The United Nations reports that the conflict has forced 900,000 people to flee, escalating tensions with Egypt.
Egyptian security sources contend that accepting Israeli military presence at Rafah would prevent aid delivery. Egypt’s state information service emphasized that a Palestinian presence is required on the Gazan side for operations to resume. Egypt’s foreign minister expressed concerns about the safety of truck drivers due to Israeli military operations.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer blamed Egypt for the aid blockade. “Right now, Egypt is withholding 2,000 trucks of humanitarian assistance from going into Gaza because they have a political issue about the Rafah crossing,” Dermer told MSNBC.
