Chairman of the State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan has said that Egypt had exerted its utmost efforts, during the 100 bloody days that passed since the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, to maintain the entry of humanitarian and relief aid to the brothers in the Strip, in an effort to stand with them in the catastrophic humanitarian conditions they are facing as a result of this bloody aggression.
Rashwan, in statements carried by SIS website, explained that the entry of this aid through the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side faced an initial obstacle from the beginning, which is that the crossing is neither designated nor structurally prepared for the entry of goods, but only individuals, which Egypt overcame with intense and urgent technical efforts to allow trucks to pass. Also, the Israeli army bombed the roads leading to the crossing from the Palestinian side at least 4 times, which prevented any movement on them, and within a very short period, Egypt completely repaired these roads.
Rashwan added that the biggest obstacle to the entry of aid and the rapid arrival of it in sufficient quantities to our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, throughout these 100 days, has been the stubbornness and intentionality of the occupying Israeli authorities, at other Gaza Strip crossings, delaying the inspection of aid before allowing its passage to the Palestinian side, by virtue of its military control over the territory of the Gaza Strip.
The head of SIS confirmed that the Rafah crossing from the Egyptian side was not closed for a single moment throughout the days of the aggression – and before that – which was confirmed dozens of times by official statements starting from the President of the Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all parties concerned, calling on the Israeli side not to prevent the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip and to stop deliberately disrupting or delaying the entry of aid under the pretext of inspecting it.
Rashwan explained that during the 100 days of the Israeli aggression, the volume of medical aid entered Gaza from the Rafah crossing reached 7,000 tons, food aid 50,000 tons, and 20,000 tons of water, in addition to 1,000 pieces of tents, tarpaulins, and subsistence materials, in addition to 11 thousand tons of other relief materials, and 88 new ambulances.
He added that 4.5 thousand tons of fuel and household gas entered during the same period, and the total number of trucks that crossed from the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip reached about 9,000 trucks since aid began entering the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the crossing during these 100 days.
Rashwan noted that Egypt had received, in the same period, 1,210 injured and sick people from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals and also from some sisterly and friendly countries, along with about 1,085 companions, in addition to the crossing of 23,000 Palestinians, foreign nationals, and dual nationals, and 2,623 stranded Egyptians in the sector.
Rashwan ended his statements by mentioning the fact that everything that entered the Gaza Strip during the 100 days of the Israeli aggression, represented Egypt’s contribution from the private and governmental sectors and individual donations, amounting to 82% of the total aid.
He reiterated Egypt’s determination to continue its utmost efforts to accelerate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and to strive diligently to increase it, in a way that contributes to limiting the aggravation of the unprecedented humanitarian crisis that our Palestinian brothers are suffering from there.
