The Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) continued dispatching urgent humanitarian relief convoys to the besieged Gaza Strip this week to help Palestinians living there meet their basic daily needs, especially with the start of the winter season.
On 16 November, the ERC sent the 73rd “Zad Al-Izza from Egypt to Gaza” convoy, which included trucks transporting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The convoy carried approximately 9,300 tons of urgent humanitarian assistance, including more than 5,500 tons of food and flour, 2,400 tons of essential medical and relief supplies, and some 1,400 tons of fuel.
ERC officials said the 73rd convoy had come as an urgent response to the suffering caused by the recent wave of rain that had hit the Gaza Strip. “The convoy was loaded with basic winter needs, which included more than 106,000 blankets, more than 1,350 mattresses, and around 40,000 pieces of winter clothing, in addition to 4,450 tents to shelter Palestinian families displaced by heavy rains,” said ERC Director Amal Imam, indicating that ERC also sent the 74th and 75th convoys on Monday and Tuesday.
The Zad Al-Izza convoys from Egypt to Gaza were launched by the ERC on 27 July to carry thousands of tons of aid that included food, flour, baby formula, medical supplies, medicines, personal care supplies, and fuel into the Strip.
The latest convoy came as Egypt is preparing to hold an international conference on the reconstruction of Gaza. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty indicated on Sunday that Egypt’s preparations for the conference are proceeding at full pace.
“Once a UN Security Council resolution is passed on the situation in the Gaza Strip, we will resume consultations with the American side and with regional and international partners in order to make the preparations and hold this conference in the coming weeks in Egypt,” Abdelatty said.
Abdelatty spoke to Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh to prepare the ground for the Gaza Reconstruction Conference. He also paid a visit to Turkey where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Abdelatty and Fidan emphasised the importance of upholding the Sharm El-Sheikh peace agreement and the necessity of moving to the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. Abdelatty expressed his hope of seeing active Turkish participation in the Gaza conference, which will contribute to mobilising international efforts to support the reconstruction of the Strip.
According to Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tamim Khallaf, Abdelatty’s consultations come as part of Egypt’s efforts to consolidate the Sharm El-Sheikh peace agreement and ensure the successful implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan.
Abdelatty emphasised that the UN Security Council resolution passed on Monday night should consolidate the end of the war and create the conditions necessary for achieving a just and comprehensive peace that meets the aspirations of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.
On Monday, the UN Security Council discussed two draft resolutions on Gaza. It voted in favour of the first draft, which was American, and included the establishment of a peace council, a transitional governing body for Gaza that would theoretically be headed by Trump, the formation of a temporary International Stabilisation Force, and the possibility of creating a future Palestinian state.
The American draft aims to push Trump’s 20-point plan forward towards ending the war in Gaza and creating the conditions for the reconstruction of the Strip.
The second draft resolution was Russian, and it did not stipulate the establishment of a peace council or the immediate deployment of an international force in Gaza but welcomed the initiative that led to the ceasefire without mentioning the name of Trump.
Abdelatty told the Italian newspaper La Republica that the peacekeeping force to be deployed in the Gaza Strip would only monitor the situation and would not be involved in any confrontation with any force in the Strip.
“Egypt sees this force as a stabilisation rather than a military force, with its main job being to open the door for the implementation of the second phase of President Trump’s plan,” Abdelatty said. He also affirmed Egypt’s complete rejection of any Israeli attempts to divide the Gaza Strip or displace the Palestinians from their land.
Abdelatty stressed that preserving the unity of the Palestinian territories is a fundamental pillar for any just, lasting, and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, noting that the two-state solution remains the only realistic option for achieving peace in the region.
Egypt is now working to solidify the ceasefire in Gaza and move to the second phase of Trump’s peace plan, while creating the right environment to start reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, said Tarek Fahmi, a professor of political science at Cairo University.
“Egypt is betting on mobilising the international and regional presence and donor agencies and organisations for the reconstruction conference to ensure positive results from this process,” Fahmi said.
Fahmy believes that “Egypt wants to secure funding sources at the conference,” explaining that “Cairo is delaying setting a date for it until it can ensure the greatest possible international participation from donors” in addition to “creating the best climate for the reconstruction plan through the implementation of the next phases of the ceasefire plan, including disarming Hamas and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.”
Fahmi also said that the “Egyptian consultations aim to stand up against Israeli attempts to disrupt the implementation of Trump’s plan for Gaza.” He pointed to “Arab efforts aimed at securing Israel’s withdrawal from the areas it occupies in Gaza, which would enhance the chances of a humanitarian response for the Palestinians.”
Fahmi referred to Israel’s escalating rhetoric against the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hours ahead of the vote on the resolutions in the UN Security Council on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his rejection of a future Palestinian state and threatened to disarm Hamas “either the easy way or the hard way”.
Fahmi estimated that the reconstruction of Gaza would cost around $70 billion. He added that “this will require Egypt to mobilise international and regional organisations, in addition to Arab partnerships, to provide sufficient funding during the reconstruction conference in coordination with the United Nations.”
He said that “Cairo is counting on a set of moves, including Monday’s UN Security Council resolution, and the activation of the international support committee to manage the Gaza Strip. It is looking for Arab coordination, in order to start the reconstruction process.”
Egypt believes that the process of disarming Hamas must come only after Israel’s withdrawal from the areas it occupies in Gaza and the deployment of the International Stabilisation Force, Fahmi said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 20 November, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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