Rafah crossing remained open though hit 4 times, backing to continue
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi addressed a crowd of thousands of Egyptians at the Cairo International Stadium on Thursday, reaffirming Egypt’s support for the Palestinian people, and hoping that a ceasefire will go into effect in “the coming days”.
Sisi’s remarks came amid a recent escalation of violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which left thousands of Palestinians dead or injured.
The Egyptian leader said that his country has been working tirelessly to de-escalate the situation and provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian efforts, in conjunction with the US and Qatar, led to concluding an agreement on a 4-day humanitarian truce, which is renewable.
“I hope that it will begin to be implemented in the coming days, without delay or procrastination,” President Sisi told a conference themed “Long live Egypt and Palestine”.
Since the war erupted, Egypt has managed the situation “with a mix of decisiveness in decision-making, flexibility in movement, and careful monitoring of developments, updating information in a timely manner, and continuous communication with all the active parties,” the president said.
A crisis management cell was formed, comprising all relevant state institutions, which the president himself followed up around the clock.
“The Egyptian blood has been mixed with Palestinian blood for seven decades. And it was the judgment of history and geography that Egypt would remain the basis for supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people,” President Sisi said.
Egypt hosted the first world summit in Cairo, with broad international and regional participation, in order to obtain international recognition of the need to stop this conflict and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, the president said.
Egypt’s participation in the Arab-Islamic summit was also active and vibrant, and the outcome was consistent with the Cairo’s overall stand, he added.
Egypt has also intensified international contacts with leaders and officials from the region and the world, and reiterated to all its stance, namely rejecting plans to forcibly displace the Palestinian people, whether from the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, to Egypt and Jordan, in order to preserve the cause from being liquidated, and to avoid any harm to national security.
Transferring Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Sinai is a red line for Egypt.
“We also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and returning to the negotiating table to reach a just and comprehensive peace based on the recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people, including establishing a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The President added that despite the intensity and severity of the fighting, Egypt kept the Rafah land crossing open, even after it was hit four times.
The aid that Egypt has pushed into the Gaza Strip has amounted to about 12,000 tones, transported by 1,300 trucks, of which 8,400 tones were provided by the state through the Egyptian Red Crescent, the National Alliance for Social Development and the Long Live Egypt Fund, which represents 70 per cent of the total aid, according to President Sisi.
Egypt also designated Al-Arish International Airport to receive aid flights from around the globe, totaling 158 flights.
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