Aid for Gaza stuck in Egypt with Rafah crossing closed
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Aid from several countries had already arrived at el-Arish airport, along with healthcare equipment from the WHO enough for 300,000 people.
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A Palestinian man kneels to pray at the Rafah gate on October 14, 2023. (AFP)
The Rafah gate, the only non-Israeli entrance into and out of Gaza, has been blocked since Tuesday, following three Israeli air attacks on the Palestinian border station within 24 hours.
An American official confirmed to AFP on Saturday that Egypt and "Israel" have achieved an arrangement allowing Americans to depart Gaza via Rafah.
Egyptian officials have refused the crossing to be "designated for only foreigners to cross," according to Egyptian media.
Aid from Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates had already arrived at el-Arish airport, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Rafah, along with healthcare equipment from the World Health Organization enough for 300,000 people.
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz pledged on Friday that no electricity, water, or fuel would enter Gaza until captives are returned home.
Egypt has revealed that it plans to host a summit regarding "the future of the Palestinian cause" as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Cairo.
According to a statement from his spokesperson, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi presided over a national security council meeting on the "military escalation in Gaza" on Sunday, in which his government pushed for diplomatic efforts with allies and humanitarian groups to "deescalate" the violence and deliver the necessary aid.
Read more: Turkish FM opposes displacement of Palestinians to Egypt
The Council reiterated earlier statements by el-Sisi "rejecting and denouncing policies of displacement or attempts to eradicate the Palestinian cause at the expense of neighboring countries."
Cairo is facing increased pressure to allow Palestinians to flee into Egypt, while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Blinken on Friday that the forced displacement of the Gazans would lead to a "second Nakba".
Israeli "evacuation orders" have fueled worries that "Israel" is attempting to forcibly displace Gazans to Egypt's Sinai peninsula, particularly after "Israel's" former Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon claimed that Cairo "will have to play ball" and allow "temporary" settlement in the "almost endless space" of Sinai, a large desert territory.
Cairo's National Security Council said Sunday that "Egypt's national security is a red line and there will be no complacency in protecting it."
This comes as Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza said earlier that there can be no valid death count now as the bodies are currently administered en masse into hospitals, all of whom are civilians.
The latest report estimates that the number of Palestinians killed in the aggression exceeded 2,400, including hundreds of children and women, noting that the occupation is intensifying air and sea strikes on Gaza, which predicts that the numbers are expected to rise massively.
In details provided later, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 2,450 citizens, the majority of whom are women and children, were martyred and over 9,000 people were injured since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
