Across the Sinai Peninsula, about a six-hour drive from Cairo through a largely empty Egyptian desert, the Rafah border crossing is a dark brown expanse of sand, concrete and not much else. Isolated from the rest of Egypt not only by distance but also by heavy military restrictions, Rafah feels as remote from world affairs as any other place on the planet.
But in the final three weeks of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, Rafah has become the focus of heated negotiations, a place where many people, both powerful and powerless, hold on to their fading hopes. As Israel imposes a crushing siege on the densely populated enclave, Rafah is the only gateway to the Strip through which aid can reach the population of 2.3 million people. So far, nothing and no one has been able to get out of Gaza.
But that could soon change: Egypt informed authorities in the Gaza Strip that it would receive 81 seriously injured people from Gaza on Wednesday and treat them in Egyptian hospitals, according to a statement from the Gaza Strip’s General Authority for Crossings and Borders.
Egypt’s control of the Rafah crossing has given the country prominent status as one of Gaza’s top benefactors and a key player in the conflict. Analysts say this position could help the country attract more international financial support amid the devastating economic crisis in the North African country. Egypt highlighted that role on Tuesday when the government took reporters on a tightly controlled trip to Rafah.
Aid trucks and army tanks lined the dusty road leading to the border crossing. Dozens of volunteers from government-sponsored aid groups and the Egyptian Red Crescent were on the move. Several ambulances were parked just inside the huge archway that framed the intersection.
“From the first minute, we have sent aid convoys from our organizations and volunteers have been here around the clock for days,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a brief news conference, as crowds of volunteers carrying Egyptian flags and pro-Palestinian signs gathered to to listen to. “Egypt has borne the burden of the Palestinian issue for years.”
But partly due to factors beyond Egypt’s control, Rafah can only meet a fraction of Gaza’s needs. Only 241 trucks carrying aid have reached Gaza since the gates were opened two weeks ago following negotiations between the United States, Israel, Egypt and the United Nations, a paltry number given the scale of humanitarian needs, aid officials say.
According to the UN, European Union and Egyptian and US officials, Israel, which carries out strict inspections of aid trucks, was the main player slowing down the process. However, according to two Western diplomats briefed on the negotiations, Israel has now agreed to allow about 80 trucks per day, still less than the 100 per day the UN says is necessary.
On Tuesday, 83 trucks arrived in Gaza, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing.
David M. Satterfield, the U.S. special envoy handling humanitarian issues in the conflict, said in Cairo on Sunday that aid must flow much faster to show increasingly desperate Gazans that they should not give in to the looting of UN warehouses would have to resort to food, as happened a few days ago.
“This is a society that is nervous and desperate,” he said, adding that aid agencies “need to be able to demonstrate that aid is not episodic.”
Negotiators have also pushed for the evacuation of people with foreign passports and their families, as well as employees of foreign embassies and international organizations in Gaza. On several occasions over the past three weeks, people have rushed to the Gaza side of the gate after being told they could pass through, only to find it closed. The United States has publicly blamed Hamas, the political and military organization that controls the enclave, while Egypt has publicly blamed Israel for making the crossing unsafe by repeatedly bombing the Gaza side.
But no one is publicly blaming Egypt, although Western diplomats involved in the evacuation effort say Egypt’s fears – including that a crowd of desperate people could try to enter Egypt as soon as the gate opens – also played a role in the fear foreign nationals play. persistent inability to evacuate.
There is still a possibility that an agreement could be reached for people with foreign passports to leave the country. But Egypt has made clear that it would not accept large numbers of Palestinian refugees into its territory, a proposal reportedly made by some in the international community, including Israel. Mr. Madbouly categorically rejected such an idea, as did the volunteers at the gate.
“No, no, no, this is not a solution and I reject this solution,” said Mustafa Mouftah, 30, a university lecturer from the nearby Egyptian town of El Arish who began volunteering as a translator in Rafah a week ago . “This is our country and we love this country.”
Mr. Satterfield said on Sunday that the United States also did not consider this an option, saying that the Biden administration respects Egypt’s sovereignty and believes that “the future of the Palestinian people of Gaza lies in Gaza.”
Hiba Yazbek and Iyad Abuheweila contributed reporting.