Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa (C), accompanied by Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (2R), arrives at an airport in El-Arish on August 18, 2025, to visit Palestinians wounded in the Israel-Hamas war. AFP
Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsy and North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer also accompanied the Palestinian delegation, which includes several government officials.
The delegation is set to tour logistical hubs in Arish and near the Rafah crossing, Egyptian channel Al-Qahera News reported.
They will also visit Arish City, near the Egypt-Gaza border, where PM Mostafa visited injured Palestinians receiving treatment at Arish Hospital.
Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, Egypt has designated the Arish airport and maritime port as key transit points for local and international relief aid entering the strip.
However, Israel has severely restricted aid deliveries as part of its systematic starvation policy.
Moreover, the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing has been closed since 7 May 2024, as the Israeli forces seized control of it.
Since then, no aid has entered the strip through this critical route, with shipments diverted instead to the Karm Abu Salem crossing — one of Gaza’s five land crossings, all of which are under Israeli control.
Aid trucks heading to Gaza face deliberate delays due to Israel's prolonged "inspection and clearance" processes.
Moreover, long lines of food-filled trucks remain stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, with Israeli authorities frequently turning back some of them without justification.
Since 27 July, the Egyptian Red Crescent, in collaboration with the UN and other humanitarian partners, has dispatched 17 aid convoys to Gaza, with the latest being this Monday.
This comes as part of Egypt's efforts to stem the worsening famine conditions, caused by Israel’s five-month blockade, among Gaza’s 2.3 million population.
The Palestinian delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday.
In separate meetings with FM Abdelatty and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Sunday, the Palestinian officials discussed the latest preparations for the international conference on Gaza reconstruction that Cairo will host once a ceasefire is reached.
The Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, now in its 22nd month, has destroyed most of the strip's infrastructure, killed around 62,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children, and injured over 153,000 others.
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