Egypt is refusing to coordinate with Israel on matters concerning the Rafah border crossing due to the ongoing military escalation by Israel, an anonymous source told AlQahera News on 11 May.
The anonymous source also conveyed that Egypt notified all relevant parties about Israel’s accountability for the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, cautioned against potential security repercussions stemming from Israeli operations in Rafah during a phone call with United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on 10 May.
Shoukry also highlighted that over 1.5 million Palestinians, mostly displaced individuals, currently reside in Rafah –– entailing that Israel’s military operation would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
WHAT HAPPENED IN RAFAH?
On the morning of 7 May, The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that its tanks and ground troops were now in control of the Gazan side of Rafah Crossing.
Israel’s decision to invade Gaza’s southernmost city was seen as imminent by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
Rafah was initially one of the final safe zones for displaced Palestinians looking to flee from the Israeli airstrikes that destroyed north Gaza.
Despite warnings from Egypt and other governments, Netanyahu formally approved a ground invasion in Rafah on 16 March, compromising the lives of one million Palestinians restricted to the south.
On 5 May, Israeli air forces dropped leaflets on approximately 100,000 Palestinians in east Rafah to escape to Khan Yunis – granting them less than a day to move before the invasion.
This tactic mimics the beginning of the war when the IDF informed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee northern Gaza in less than 24 hours to leave the area before its air strike operation.
Since the Israeli forces’ incursion into the Rafah Border Crossing, not a single aid truck has entered Gaza since Tuesday.
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[…] unrestricted access to humanitarian aid to Palestinians in need. Egypt’s government previously rejected Israel’s proposal to coordinate the Rafah border crossing together due to the ongoing military […]
[…] May, another high-level source from Egypt informed Al-Qahera News channel that Egypt refuses to engage in coordination with Israel concerning the […]