the luck of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians It could depend on what happens in the next few days in the Rafá passthe southern border of Loop controlled by Egypt and its only potential means of communication with the world. a hundred of trucks with tons of humanitarian aid They have been waiting for days in Rafá to enter the Strip and alleviate the desperate situation of its population, which survives the bombings without water, electricity or fuel since Israel suspended supplies more than a week ago and completely closed the enclave borders in response to Hamas’ devastating attack on its territory. The siege has once again put Egypt between a rock and a hard place. Forced on the one hand to prevent the humanitarian disasterbut very aware on the other that the opening of its border could serve to empty Gaza of Palestinians.
During the day, a ceasefire agreement in southern Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid for a few hours. Created with the mediation of USA and several of its Arab partners, the pact obliged Egypt to evacuate the foreigners and Palestinians with dual nationality in exchange for Israel allowing trucks stranded on the Egyptian border to access Gaza. Since then the information that has arrived is contradictory. After the Israeli Government denied the ceasefire to open a “humanitarian corridor”, Cairo accused him of refusing to cooperate with the terms of the agreement, although some media claim that some trucks had crossed the border.
In any case, Gaza is going to need more than a few trucks to prevent famine and the collapse of minimum conditions for life in the enclave, subjected to bombing unprecedented in its scope and magnitude for 10 days. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that there are only “24 additional hours of water, electricity and fuel” for the two million inhabitants of the Strip. Without fuel, the water desalination plants do not work, and without electricity there are no refrigerators or machines to keep some of the more than 10,000 injured alive – in addition to 2,800 dead— which has stopped Israel’s offensive to date, which continues to deal with Hamas rockets.
Collusion with the Israeli blockade
Since the blockade on Gaza began 16 years ago, Egypt has only briefly opened its border with the Strip, citing security reasons. In part because of the complicated relationship with Hamasoriginally born from the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian, the same as the military regime of Abdelfatá Al Sisi crushed in 2013 to seize power in Cairo. But also for the commitments it maintains with Israel Since 2007, when Hamas remained the sole authority in Gaza, they have given the Jewish State the power to also veto goods entering from the Egyptian border.
This time Cairo seems genuinely interested in preventing “the catastrophe.” in the making that the WHO predicts. “There is an urgent need to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” his foreign minister said on Monday. Sameh Shoukry. Not only for the obvious reasons, but also for the support that the Palestinian cause maintains in the egyptian street, once again suffocated by rampant inflation, the economic crisis and the regime’s seamless repression. That pressure helps explain why this time Al Sisi has declared that the bombings on Gaza “they exceed the right to self-defense” and enter the land of “collective punishment.”
Old fears in Cairo
Related news
Your Government has opened the Arish airportabout 40 kilometers from the Strip, at the international aid, arrival from Jordan, Arab Emirates either Türkiye. But for now the border remains closed. And although it is possible that the padlock will end up being lifted for the occasional access of water, medicine and fuelEgypt has already made it clear that it is not contemplating its opening to allow the flight of Palestinian civiliansparticularly after Israel ordered more than a million Gazans to leave the north of the enclave, presumably to make room for its troops to invade.
And historically, Cairo has feared that Israel would try to give shelving the Gaza conflict expelling the Palestinians to their territory. An idea aired several times in recent decades by Israeli leaders and now reborn following some statements, as well as the situation on the ground. Citing Egyptian security sources, the newspaper ‘Al Ahram’ published these days that “some parties and forces” In Israel they plan the forced displacement to the Egyptian Sinai of the Palestinians of Gaza. “Egypt will not allow the settlement of the Palestinian issue at the expense of third parties,” Al Sisi said in an interview on Sunday. “There will be no permissiveness to trample on Egyptian national security under any circumstances.” Cairo is convinced that if it allows refugees to flee into its territory, they will never be allowed to return and the Gaza problem It will become exclusively yours.