Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said today that Israel’s actions in response to the massive attack by “Hamas” is tantamount to “collective punishment” for the people of the densely populated Gaza Strip, DPA reported.
Since the October 7 surprise attack, Israel has been launching waves of airstrikes on Gaza, and the likelihood of an upcoming Israeli ground offensive on the territory is high.
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“The current actions, in my opinion, went beyond Israel’s right to self-defense and became a collective punishment of the Gaza Strip, inhabited by 2.3 million Palestinians”he said in a televised address at a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Cairo.
Blinken’s visit to Egypt is part of a regional tour aimed at preventing Israel’s conflict with Hamas from escalating into a regional war. He has already visited Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier, the top US diplomat met with Saudi Arabia’s influential Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.
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“It is very important to de-escalate tensions and also facilitate the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip”said the Egyptian president.
The US secretary of state said the Egyptian-controlled border crossing with Gaza would be reopened and that the US was working with Egypt, Israel and the UN to get aid through it.
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Hundreds of tons of aid from several countries have been sitting in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for days pending an agreement to deliver it safely to Gaza and evacuate some foreign passport holders through the Rafah border crossing.
“Egypt has provided a lot of material aid to the people of Gaza and Rafah will be reopened”Blinken told reporters in Cairo after a “very good conversation” with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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“Together with the UN, with Egypt, with Israel and with other countries, we are creating a mechanism through which aid can be delivered to the people who need ithe added.
Source: BTA, Lubomir Martinov
2023-10-15 19:36:52
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