Egypt responded to statements by US President Joe Biden, in which he said that Cairo closed the Rafah crossing to humanitarian aid sent to the stricken Gaza Strip, at the beginning of the war.
Biden said that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi “at first did not want to open the crossing to allow the entry of humanitarian materials. I spoke to him and convinced him to open the crossing. I spoke to Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) to open the gate from the Israeli side.”
However, the Egyptian presidency issued a statement on Friday in which it confirmed that Egypt “from the first moment opened the Rafah crossing on its part without restrictions or conditions, and mobilized humanitarian aid in large quantities, whether from Egypt itself or through all the countries of the world that sent aid to Al-Arish Airport.” , in the Egyptian North Sinai Governorate.
The presidency explained that “the continued bombing of the Palestinian side of the crossing by Israel, which was repeated 4 times, prevented the entry of aid.”
However, “as soon as the bombing of the other side of the crossing ended, Egypt immediately rehabilitated it and made the necessary technical adjustments, allowing the largest amount of aid to be brought in to relieve the people of the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt affirmed that “the role it played in mobilizing and introducing aid was leadership and stemmed from Egypt’s sense of humanitarian responsibility for the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip.”
The statement added, “Egypt has endured countless pressures and burdens to be able to coordinate the process of entering aid. To do so, it has made, and continues to have, extensive contacts with all parties, whether regional or international, to pressure to allow the entry of aid and increase its quantities in the required manner.”
He said, “80 percent of the aid reaching the Strip is provided by Egypt, its government, people, and civil society.”
2024-02-09 13:14:27
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