After the rocket hit a clinic in the Gaza Strip, potentially killing hundreds, there are increasing signs that the Egyptian border crossing will be opened to humanitarian goods.
According to US President Joe Biden, Egypt promised to initially allow up to 20 trucks into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing. Israel, which has sealed off the coastal strip and is bombing Islamist Hamas attackers there, promised not to hinder humanitarian aid deliveries from Egypt. It had called on the people of Gaza to move south.
According to the UN, around a million people have now fled there; Israel’s army says around 600,000. Rafah, on the southern edge of the coastal enclave, is seen as the only way to bring urgently needed aid to the Gaza Strip. However, it was still unclear at night when exactly the border crossing would open.
UN emergency relief coordinator calls for immediate access to the Gaza Strip
“What we urgently need is immediate, secure access for humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths. He pointed to the further deteriorating situation in Gaza: “The destruction of the hospital yesterday has further increased the pressure on this crumbling, battered and sad health system,” he said on Wednesday (local time) at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
The Hamas-controlled health authority immediately blamed Israel for the explosion at the Al-Ahli Clinic, and neighboring Arab states followed suit. There were angry anti-Israel demonstrations, especially in Arab and Islamic countries, but also in Germany. Israel firmly denied guilt and said it was hit by a stray rocket from the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan viewed the rocket strike as a violation of international law – but avoided direct blame. “I condemn the perpetrators behind this attack, which is a crime against humanity and should be classified as genocide against the people of Gaza,” Erdogan wrote on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
Baerbock: Attempted arson attack on synagogue unbearable
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) then assured the Jews living in Germany of Germany’s solidarity. “We are opposing this with all the strength of the state and our society. Never again is now,” she wrote on the platform X, formerly Twitter. It is “unbearable” that Jews in Germany have to be afraid “that Stars of David are being painted on houses
Israel had firmly denied blame for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza and said it had been hit by a stray rocket from the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan viewed the rocket strike as a violation of international law – but avoided direct blame. “I condemn the perpetrators behind this attack, which is a crime against humanity and should be classified as genocide against the people of Gaza,” Erdogan wrote on the online platform X (formerly Twitter).
Biden: Aid supplies must not go to Hamas
Meanwhile, US President Biden said on his return from his visit to Israel that he had spoken on the phone with Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He promised to initially allow “up to 20 trucks” to cross the closed Rafah border crossing. Further deliveries could possibly follow after that. Biden emphasized, however, that if Hamas, which rules in Gaza, confiscates supplies, “then it will stop.” United Nations representatives would take care of the distribution of goods on the Gaza side.
According to local reports, the Rafah border crossing was damaged by Israeli shelling and now requires repairs. According to Egyptian information, around 3,000 tons of relief supplies are available there for the trapped people. According to Biden, repairs to the road are necessary. Delivery is therefore not expected before Friday. Shortly after the meeting with Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would not hinder humanitarian aid such as food, water and medicine to Gaza. But he also made it clear: “Every delivery that reaches Hamas will be prevented.”
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Griffiths highlighted the extreme water shortage for the people of the Gaza Strip. They are increasingly forced to rely on unsafe sources, putting the population at risk of water-borne diseases.
Russia delivers 27 tons of aid to the Gaza Strip
According to the Civil Defense Ministry in Moscow, Russia is delivering 27 tons of aid to the Gaza Strip. An Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft took off with the cargo from Ramenskoye Airport near Moscow, the ministry announced. A video was also published.
Accordingly, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had ordered the cargo. It will be handed over to the Red Crescent Organization in Egypt. Food such as flour, sugar, rice and pasta would be delivered. It was initially unclear when the aid supplies could be brought across the border.
After Biden, Sunak is also traveling to Israel
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel for a short visit. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for Downing Street in London this morning. The 43-year-old wants to meet, among others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Izchak Herzog, as the British news agency PA reported. He then plans to visit other capitals in the region as part of his two-day trip. According to PA, Sunak wants to call on governments in the Middle East to avoid further dangerous escalation.
Again incidents on Israel’s northern border
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has again attacked pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. The Israeli army announced this last night. She had previously announced that “terrorists” had fired an anti-tank missile into an Israeli area near the border with Lebanon. The Israeli military responded with artillery fire.
Since the terrorist attacks on Israel by the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas and Israel’s counterattacks on Gaza, there have been regular incidents on the border between Israel and Lebanon in recent days, fueling concerns of an escalation. There were further incidents in the West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, a 21-year-old was shot dead by settlers and two teenagers during confrontations with Israeli soldiers. The situation was threatening to get “out of control,” warned Griffiths.
This will be important today
UN Secretary-General António Guterres travels to Cairo. According to the UN, he wants to meet there with Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, among others, to get the Rafah border crossing opened. The EU Parliament wants to pass a resolution on Israel on the same day. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden wants to address the nation in a rare address from the Oval Office in the evening (local time) and, among other things, discuss his country’s reaction to the attacks by the Islamist Hamas against Israel.
