Egypt Closed Their Border to These Poor Gazans
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the Biden administration is in talks with Israel and Egypt about creating a humanitarian corridor through which civilians can cross.
But Egypt is uneasy about the prospect of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees crossing into its territory. More than two million Palestinians live in the densely packed coastal enclave that is under intense Israeli bombardment.
Israel’s military overnight Thursday called for residents of northern Gaza to evacuate their homes and move southwards as it amassed 300,000 reservists on the border in apparent preparation for a ground incursion. That would amount to the mass displacement of 1.1 million people, the UN said, adding that it would be “impossible” to do in 24 hours. Saturday’s attack on Israel killed 1,300 people, prompting retaliation against Hamas that has killed 1,799 in Gaza.
Speaking at a military graduation ceremony Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi compared the situation in his country to a lone house in a neighborhood that’s on fire. He said that rumors about Egypt not seeking to help its Palestinian neighbors are not true.
“We are making sure that aid, whether medical or humanitarian, at this difficult time, makes it to the strip,” Sisi said, adding that “we sympathize.”
But he warned that Egypt’s ability to help has limits. “Of course we sympathize. But be careful, while we sympathize, we must always be using our minds in order to reach peace and safety in a manner that doesn’t cost us much,” he said, adding that Egypt hosts 9 million migrants already.
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