19 Oct 2023 at 00:25
Egypt opens the Rafah border crossing for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Yet aid cannot easily reach civilians in the Gaza Strip because the road leading there has been bombed.
The United States and Egypt reached an agreement late on Wednesday, both countries said.
Biden says that he has agreed with Al Sisi to initially allow “a maximum of twenty trucks through”. But before the trucks can pass through, the road must first be repaired, Biden said.
The road that runs through the border crossing has been bombed several times by the Israeli air force in recent days. “So it may be that nothing is likely to continue until Friday,” Biden says.
Al Sisi also said in a statement that he and Biden have reached an agreement to bring aid to the Gaza Strip “in a sustainable way”.
Rafah is the only border crossing into the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel. The border crossing is currently closed.
The American president will give a speech from Washington on Thursday about the wars in Israel and Ukraine. Biden also visited Israel on Wednesday.
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Israel allows deliveries of water, food and medicine
Israel previously said it would allow the delivery of food, water and medicine to the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reported this on Wednesday after Biden announced an agreement on this.
“In light of President Biden’s request, Israel will not block the delivery of humanitarian supplies through Egypt,” the office said in a statement. It also states that Israel will allow aid to civilians “as long as these goods do not reach Hamas.”
As a result of the war between Hamas and Israel, the people of the Gaza Strip are struggling with an ever-increasing humanitarian disaster.
The conflict explained
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2023-10-18 22:25:37
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