Humanitarian aid
Biden expects aid to be delivered to Gaza in one or two days
Egyptian army soldiers stand at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. photo
© Gehad Hamdy/dpa
Human rights activists warn about the situation for the people in the Gaza Strip – there is a lack of food, water, medicine and fuel. US President Biden expects the border crossing to open soon.
He received a promise from Israel and Egypt that the Rafah border crossing, which was previously closed, would be open for deliveries. However, the access road was in poor condition and had to be paved.
Biden made the comments on the sidelines of a meeting with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel in the White House. The US President announced on Wednesday on his return from a short visit to Israel that Egypt had assured him that, as a first step, up to 20 trucks with humanitarian goods would be allowed into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing.
Further deliveries could then follow. However, Biden emphasized that if the Islamist Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, confiscates the deliveries, “then it will stop.” Lots of trucks with drinking water, food and medicine have been parked in front of the border crossing for a long time.
Sunak also expects it to open soon
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also expects the Rafah border crossing to open soon. After the crisis broke out, it was a priority to open the crossing. “This has been a topic in all my discussions and I am very happy that this will now happen shortly,” Sunak told reporters, according to the British news agency PA.
He visited Cairo on Friday and met both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The day before, Sunak had made a short visit to Israel and then traveled on to Saudi Arabia.