A still photo of Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi delivering a speech during a celebration marking the 72nd anniversary of Police Day at the Police Academy Conference Complex in New Cairo on Wednesday.
His remarks came during a celebration marking the 72nd anniversary of Police Day, observed annually on 25 January, at the Police Academy Conference Complex in New Cairo.
“We witness very harsh scenes in the Gaza Strip, with more than 25,000 martyrs, two-thirds of whom are women and children. This comes in addition to the destruction of the entire strip,” El-Sisi said.
The president also addressed claims that Egypt is hindering the delivery of aid to the strip.
“A lot has been said that Egypt is the reason. If I am the reason for preventing the entry of a loaf of bread to Gaza, then god help me. Rafah crossing is open 24/7, 30 days a month,” he said.
We cannot close the Rafah crossing to the passage of aid to Gaza, El-Sisi said, emphasizing that “you must be sure of that.”
Before the current war, he said, Egypt would deliver around 600 trucks a day loaded with aid to Gaza, adding that nowadays the highest number in a day was around 200 trucks.
The president expressed his disbelief in how Gaza’s residents have managed to live under such dire humanitarian conditions.
On Tuesday, Egypt's Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait directed the Egyptian Customs Authority (ECA) to continue exceptional measures that provide all necessary customs facilitations and cancel imposing any customs restrictions to speed up humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza.
Egypt is committed to promptly responding to humanitarian emergencies, particularly in Gaza, Maait stated, emphasizing that they are coordinating with all relevant entities to facilitate the delivery of aid.
As of 14 January, the first hundred days of the war, 7,000 tons of medical assistance, 50,000 tons of food, and 20,000 tons of water entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing, according to remarks by Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan.
Egypt has contributed 82 percent of total aid delivered to Gaza, worth a total of $196 million, Rashwan noted.
Additionally, 1,000 tents and tarps, along with 11,000 tons of various relief items and 88 new ambulances have been provided. A total of 405,000 tons of fuel and household gas were also delivered, the head of the SIS added.
Rashwan also stated that the major hurdle for the swift delivery of aid to Gaza has been the deliberate delays imposed by Israeli authorities inspecting the aid at border crossings.
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