Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Speaking at an event in Cairo on Wednesday evening titled "Egypt’s Response to the Humanitarian Catastrophe: Together Keeping Gaza Alive," Abdelatty said Israel was deliberately cutting off food, medicine, water, electricity, and essential supplies while carrying out large-scale air and ground assaults.
He described the policy as a “systematic starvation strategy” designed to “liquidate the Palestinian cause” and warned that it threatens to destabilise neighbouring Arab states.
The event, organized by Egypt’s foreign and social solidarity ministries, honoured the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) for coordinating and delivering aid to Gaza throughout the war.
Abdelatty said Egypt has led regional relief efforts since the start of the conflict, delivering nearly 70 percent of all aid to Gaza.
He noted that the Rafah crossing had been kept open from the Egyptian side to allow the evacuation of the wounded and the entry of aid until Israeli strikes shut down its Palestinian side, forcing Egypt to reroute convoys through the Karm Abu Salem crossing despite Israeli restrictions.
“Honouring the Egyptian Red Crescent today is a message of gratitude to them and to our international partners, from United Nations (UN) agencies such as UNRWA to NGOs and friendly governments, who have stood by this effort,” he said.
Abdelatty urged the international community to keep pressing for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access, saying a lasting end to Gaza’s suffering requires “a genuine political horizon” based on a two-state solution with a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsy highlighted Egypt’s longstanding support for the Palestinian people since 1948, citing new logistical centres, warehouses, field kitchens, and psychosocial support services set up to speed the aid response.
“For 700 consecutive days, and thanks to the steadfast position of the political leadership of President Abdel Fattah El‑Sisi in support of our brothers in Gaza, Egypt has not ceased the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Strip, which has exceeded 570,000 tons since 7 October 2023,” Egypt’s social solidarity minister said.
In this regard, Morsy highlighted the role of the ERC in delivering the aid to Gaza, saying that it is Egypt's national mechanism responsible for the delivery of assistance to Gaza, with a force exceeding 35,000 male and female volunteers, constituting a model to be emulated in humanitarian action.
The minister also pointed to ERC's efforts exerted in establishing logistical centers, customs warehouses, and the humanitarian kitchen, as well as in adopting digital systems to accelerate the pace of work and ensure its effectiveness.
She also emphasized the continuation of political and diplomatic efforts aimed at establishing sustainable mechanisms that would guarantee the effectiveness of humanitarian operations.
Meanwhile, a documentary screened at the event showcased ERC operations and featured testimonies from Palestinians who received Egyptian aid.
The ceremony concluded with the recognition of ERC volunteers for their work under what organisers described as “dangerous and difficult conditions”.
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