Israel Egypt prepares to open border crossing after ceasefire
At the important Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, Egypt is preparing for a possible opening and for new aid deliveries to the coastal area.
15.01.2025, 14:49
SDA
Egypt has taken appropriate precautions ahead of a possible ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, the German Press Agency was told by security sources at the border crossing. Around 250 trucks with relief supplies are currently being prepared to deliver them to the suffering civilian population in the event of a ceasefire. It would be the first delivery of this kind via Rafah for more than eight months.
Israel's army occupied the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side in May last year. Shortly afterwards, no more aid deliveries from Egypt reached the sealed-off coastal area via Rafah.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza was already very bad before the war began in October 2023 and was dramatically exacerbated by the bombing. According to the UN, more than 90 percent of the Palestinian population is suffering from severe hunger. There is also a lack of water, emergency shelters and medicines.
Due to the closure of the Rafah crossing, in recent months aid has only been able to get through Israeli-controlled crossings such as Kerem Shalom, Erez and Kissufim. Time and again, aid supplies have also been looted by Palestinians after entering the Gaza Strip.
An Egyptian government representative told dpa that "thousands" of trucks were waiting near Rafah in Egypt to bring goods to Gaza. Warehouses in the area were full of relief supplies that could not be distributed among the Palestinians.
