Egypt to oversee Gaza aid distribution along with UN, Red Crescent
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"Israel" will allow humanitarian assistance from Egypt to reach the Gaza Strip, as long as it's limited to food, water, and medicine for the civilian population, provided it doesn't reach Hamas.
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Volunteers of the humanitarian aid convoy for the Gaza Strip wave Egyptian and Palestinian flags at Rafah crossing port, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023 (AP)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry announced on Wednesday that Egypt, in collaboration with the United Nations and the Red Crescent, will oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
"The UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent and us will control the delivery of aid," Shoukry said in an interview with the Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya broadcaster.
This comes after the Israeli Prime Minister's office announced that they will not obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need in the Gaza Strip through the Egyptian border crossing.
However, they stated that any attempts "to send aid to Hamas would be prevented."
Israeli media quoted police minister Itamar Ben Gvir as saying, "We must not allow any humanitarian assistance to the residents of Gaza."
Biden's "request"
This is among the resolutions adopted by the Israeli war cabinet upon the request of US President Joe Biden, who had visited occupied al-Quds earlier in the day, as stated by Netanyahu's office.
"In light of President Biden's request, Israel will not prevent humanitarian assistance from Egypt as long as it is only food, water, and medicine for the civilian population located in the southern Gaza Strip or which is evacuating to there, and as long as these supplies do not reach Hamas. Any supplies that reach Hamas – will be prevented," the prime minister's office said.
"Israel's" war cabinet, as per the statement, has decided not to permit humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip from within Palestine until all captives held by Hamas are released.
Additionally, "Israel" is calling for International Committee of the Red Cross workers to be granted access to visit the captives in Gaza, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.
Read more: Biden from "Tel Aviv": Palestinians bombed themselves
On October 13, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-El-Sisi said that he would not host Palestinian refugees because doing so would end the Palestinian cause.
Likewise, on October 17, Jordanian King Abdullah bin Al Hussein announced that neither Jordan nor Egypt would take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza.
"I speak out forcefully not just on behalf of Jordan, but also on behalf of our brothers in Egypt: neither Jordan nor Egypt will be able to take in refugees. The situation has a range of humanitarian aspects that have to be decided on Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. It is impossible to try to force a situation concerning Palestinians' future on other countries," he said after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
