2023-10-13 04:31:35
CAIRO: Israel has issued an ultimatum to Gaza residents to leave as soon as possible before launching a full-scale military operation aimed at the complete elimination of Hamas. Egypt continues to tightly control the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border, the only escape route for Gazans, even as fighting continues unabated. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is adamant that Gaza residents will not be allowed to pass through, amid repeated warnings from Israel and pressure from countries including the US. Egypt has closed the Rafah Gate this time as well following the practice of closing the border during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Egyptian president also demanded on Thursday that the residents of Gaza should remain firmly on their land. Egypt reiterates that Gazans must remain in their land with certainty, as pressure continues, including from the US and Arab countries, to provide a safe escape route from the Gaza war front as soon as possible. Egypt fears that opening the border to people from Gaza will plunge the country into a major crisis.
Egypt argues that in order to fulfill its promise of an independent Palestinian state, Israel must resolve the Palestinian issue from within its borders. The New York Times quoted Mustafa Kamal Al-Sayed of Cairo University as saying that allowing people from Gaza to cross the border, even as refugees, would revive the idea of Sinai as an alternative state for the Palestinians. Egypt is already worried that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might turn into its own problem at any moment.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced yesterday that he will not allow the Palestinian problem to be solved at the expense of others. Meanwhile, world nations are calling on Egypt to show more mercy to the people of Gaza, who face death with nowhere to go as the conflict rages. The request is to open the way for at least a few of the 23 lakh people living in the Gaza Strip to escape.
Israel’s position is that it will not allow humanitarian relief in the blockade of Gaza unless all hostages are released. Israel’s energy minister said that if the detainees are not released, there will not be a single drop of water or a single light in Gaza. Israel rejected the Red Cross’s request to provide at least enough fuel for the generators in Gaza’s hospitals. The Red Cross has warned that if the power outage continues, hospitals full of injured people will turn into mortuaries.
Israel stopped the supply of electricity, food and fuel to the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack from Monday. Gaza’s only power plant shut down on Wednesday due to a lack of fuel. Neighboring Egypt has intensified talks with Israel and the US to bring aid including food and medicine to the Palestinians through the Rafah Gate on the Gaza-Egypt border. International aid should also come through Egypt. They also won’t reach Gaza unless the sanctions are lifted.
English Summary:
As Israel Intensifies Strikes On Gaza, Egypt Offers Aid, but No Exit
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