Egypt has agreed to allow the transfer of fuel and humanitarian aid from its territory to Gaza through Israel, the White House and the Egyptian presidency announced on Friday, reopening a vital channel for aid into the devastated Palestinian enclave.
The agreement was reached on Friday during a phone call between President Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, according to the White House readout, which states that fuel and humanitarian aid will be able to enter Gaza through an Israeli canal. managed crossing, Kerem Shalom, which is located at the crossroads of Egypt, Gaza and Israel.
For months, Kerem Shalom was one of two main crossings into Gaza through which desperately needed food, medicine and fuel could enter the enclave. The other, between Egypt and Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, has also been the main route for sick and wounded Gazans to escape the war.
In early May, after Israeli troops occupied the Rafah crossing as part of a long-awaited advance into the city, the border crossing was closed. While Israel also opened crossings in northern Gaza, the closure of Rafah limited the amount of international aid that could reach the enclave. Israel and Egypt exchanged blame for the robbery.
In the weeks before Israel took the Rafah crossing, widespread hunger had begun to ease in some parts of Gaza thanks to increased aid, according to residents of the enclave. But since the assault, more than 800,000 people have fled Rafah, and getting aid to Gaza – and from there to those who need it – has become even more difficult.
When the Rafah crossing was closed, the Egyptian government initially resisted sending aid trucks to Kerem Shalom, in what American and Israeli officials said was an attempt to pressure Israel to withdraw from its operation in Rafah .
El-Sisi's office said the decision was a “temporary measure” until “a new legal measure to resume operations at the Rafah crossing” was established. In the White House readout, President Biden said he was committed to reopening the crossing “with agreements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel” and planned to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further talks.