Egypt Says Rafah Crossing Will Remain for Aid, Not Palestinian Exodus
Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign minister, ruled out using the Rafah crossing as a route for Palestinians to leave Gaza, insisting that the border will remain open only for humanitarian relief. Foreign Minister Abdelatty made the remarks during a press conference on Saturday in Cairo with Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
“The Rafah crossing is only for the delivery of aid, not displacement,” Abdelatty said. He added, “It’s absurd to say that the Palestinian people want to leave their land, but rather they are driven by a policy of starvation.”
This holiday season, give to:
Truth and understanding
The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting.
They all said they cover it.
We see it.
We report with just one agenda: the truth.
Lazzarini echoed concerns about worsening humanitarian conditions, describing the crisis as man-made. He said that aid deliveries through Rafah have been hampered by “Israeli impeding practices” and noted that UNRWA lacks the resources to meet Gaza’s needs despite Egypt’s ongoing mediation efforts.
Abdelatty also tied the humanitarian crisis to political negotiations, saying that “stopping the war in Gaza is the only way to secure the release of hostages.”
The Egyptian minister’s comments came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a televised interview that “half of the population wants to leave Gaza,” while stressing, “this is not a mass expulsion.” The remarks drew criticism across the region. Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammad Momani rejected any forced transfer of Palestinians, writing on social media that moving civilians out of occupied territories would be a “war crime” and a “crime against humanity.”
