CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi accused Israel on Wednesday of impeding aid deliveries for Gaza at the Rafah border crossing.
El-Sisi addressing a gathering of military officers and state officials said that this is a form of pressure on the Gaza Strip and its people over the conflict and the release of captives.
He said Israel is using this as a pressure tool on the people of the Gaza Strip.
He said that Egypt used to facilitate sending of 600 trucks to Gaza 600 a day, but for the past two to three days, it is not delivering more than 200 to 220 trucks of aid per day. He asked how the people in Gaza are living under these circumstances?
He noted that Egypt’s Rafah crossing is open round the clock every day of the month, but Israel is hampering the aid deliveries through lengthy procedures.
Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza following a surprise cross-border assault by Hamas has caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people left homeless and acutely shortage of water, food, medicine and fuel.
Earlier, Israel denied holding up aid to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Wednesday reported that the death toll from ongoing relentless Israeli military bombardment has surpassed 24,700 mostly women and children, since October 7.
The ministry in the statement said at least 210 people have been killed and 386 injured in the past 24 hours.
It further said that 61,830 people have also been injured in the Palestinian territory during the war.
