Cairo, Oct. 15, (dpa/GNA) – Egypt said it would intensify efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to the neighbouring Gaza Strip, which has been the focus of an ongoing Israeli military campaign, amid fears of a mass displacement.
The pledge on Sunday came in a statement issued after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi headed a meeting of the country’s national security council on the spiraling violence in Gaza.
Rafah, the only border crossing from Gaza to Egypt, is currently closed due to a retaliatory Israeli bombardment of the enclave.
Egyptian media Saturday quoted unidentified Egyptian sources as saying that Cairo links the passage of foreign nationals from Gaza through the crossing to facilitating aid deliveries to the enclave.
Israel has imposed a blockade on the densely populated territory of Gaza following Hamas’ large-scale attacks from there last week.
Israel has stopped the entry of food, fuel and medicines to Gaza, prompting dire warnings about the conditions faced by civilians in the impoverished territory.
Egypt said Sunday it would intensify contacts with aid groups to provide humanitarian supplies to the enclave.
The Israeli army told civilians in northern Gaza to head south on Sunday, ahead of a widely expected offensive that was reportedly delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
Worries have grown in Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, after the Israeli military told people in the north of Gaza to head south as an Israeli ground offensive looms.
Egypt has warned against a mass exodus of Gazans into its territory.
Egypt “rejects and denounces the displacement policy, or attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause at the expense of neighbouring countries,” a presidential statement said Sunday following the national security council meeting.
“Egypt’s national security is a red line,” it added.
The statement also said Egypt invites to host a regional and international conference on the “developments and future of the Palestinian cause.”
GNA