Angelina Jolie, the American actress and former United Nations special envoy for refugees, visited the Rafah land crossing on Friday, 2 January, to see conditions firsthand and highlight urgent humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip.
Jolie was accompanied by a delegation from the U.S. State Department as well as Egyptian officials, including Khaled Maghawer, Governor of North Sinai, and Nabila Makram, former Minister of Migration.
During the visit, she stressed the importance of increasing the flow of humanitarian aid quickly into Gaza, where many people continue to face severe suffering and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Governor Maghawer said the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing remains open and is prepared to receive injured and sick Palestinians for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
He noted that the crossing has not been closed on Egypt’s side since 7 January, 2023, although he said it was closed by Israel on the other side.
The visit comes amid growing international concern and support for efforts to deliver aid and care to people affected by the ongoing situation in Gaza. Today, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The ministers warned that harsh and unstable weather conditions, including heavy rain and storms, have worsened an already fragile situation.
Since the start of the war on Gaza on 7 October 2023, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and 170,000 have been injured. Nearly 2 million Palestinians, which is roughly 90 percent of Gaza’s pre-war population, have been displaced from their homes.
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