Senior journalist Diaa Rashwan, Chairman of the State Information Service (SIS), confirmed that global media is following-up with great interest Egypt’s role regarding the ongoing developments in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the aggression in early October 2023, according to the SIS website.
It also follows-up Egypt’s humanitarian efforts to provide support to the Palestinian brothers, in addition to its political and diplomatic efforts to access Egyptian and international aid through Rafah crossing, which has become the only lifeline for the brothers in Gaza for the entry of aid and relief goods, the transfer of the wounded, and the exit of foreign civilians from the Strip.
Rashwan also indicated that Egypt’s efforts are appreciated globally, whether in the humanitarian field or the intense political efforts to halt the aggression and move to the comprehensive political settlement of the Palestinian issue that is based on international resolutions, the two-state solution, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the territories occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem its capital.
Rashwan said that the SIS, through the “Press Center for Foreign Correspondents,” provides all facilities to foreign media correspondents accredited to Egypt to be aware of Egypt’s efforts and closely follow-up ongoing developments, by providing all available data and information from all Egyptian official authorities.
He added that the Press Center for Foreign Correspondents organizes visits for correspondents to Al-Arish and the Rafah crossing as well as meetings with State officials, among these meetings was the press conference of Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Prime Minister, in front of the Rafah crossing to explain Egypt’s position and efforts regarding providing and accessing aids and relief goods, transporting the wounded, and exiting foreigners, in addition to several other meetings that were organised for foreign media correspondents with ministers and officials concerned with this crisis.
The SIS Chairman also held two press conferences attended by dozens of foreign journalists and correspondents to explain the developments in the Egyptian position on ongoing events. The first conference was in Cairo, while the second conference was held in front of the Rafah crossing, where all questions and inquiries regarding the Egyptian position were answered and all false narratives about what is happening in Gaza were refuted.
During the press conference, Rashwan emphasized the reality of the situation on the ground as a brutal aggression against the Palestinian people, aiming to kill, destroy, and forcibly displace the Palestinian people outside their land, which Egypt expressed its decisive rejection of, and its strong stance to suppress these aggressive plans.
Rashwan added that, as part of these efforts, the SIS, through the Press Centre for Foreign Correspondents, has organized three tours so far for foreign media correspondents to Al-Arish and Rafah. The first tour was on October 31st and included (60) foreign correspondents residing and visiting Egypt, representing (38) foreign media outlets, while the last two visits were organized on November 15 and 18, 2023, with the participation of (49) correspondents representing (37) foreign media organizations from around the world, including the USA, Europe, Asia and Arab media outlets.
Among these foreign media outlets were news agencies, namely the Associated Press and Bloomberg, Rossiya’s Segodnya and Itar-Tass Russian news agency, the German DPA and the Chinese Xinhua, the Japanese Jiji Press and the Turkish Anadolu, the Iraqi Hadath News and the Bangladesh Bdnews24, which provides its services to Southeast Asian countries and the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA). In addition to a number of international TV channels and radio stations, including the American CBS News and Al-Hurra, the BBC and Russia Today (RT), France 24 and the Swiss RSI, the Italian RAI and the Austrian ORF, the Dutch RTL and the Japanese ASAHI, and the Chinese CGTN Television, in addition to the TV channels of Al-Arabiya, Sky News Arabia, the Kuwait TV, Al-Ghad, and Al-Sharq, as well as the American NPR Radio and the Voice of Vietnam Radio. It also included representatives of international newspapers, such as the US Washington Post, the Canadian Globe and Mail, and the Japanese AKAHATA, Mainichi, and Sankei.
The Chairman indicated that the SIS will continue to respond to requests from reporters who wish to obtain more information about Egyptian efforts, hold meetings with relevant officials, pay visits to the city and airport of Al-Arish, or reach the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
