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Egypt Strongly Condemns Israel’s Allegations about Rafah Crossing

18 March 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. (dpa)
18 March 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. (dpa)
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Egypt Strongly Condemns Israel’s Allegations about Rafah Crossing

18 March 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. (dpa)
18 March 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. (dpa)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry strongly condemned on Tuesday Israel's attempt to blame Egypt for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Shoukry added in a statement that Israel's seizure of the Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt as well as its military operations in the area were the main reasons for aid being unable to enter Gaza.

Shoukry stressed that his country "categorically rejects" Israel’s policy of "twisting facts and shirking responsibility".

"Israel alone is responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe the Palestinians are facing in Gaza," he stated.

"Israel must assume its legal responsibilities as an occupying power and allow the entry of aid through land crossings under its control," he demanded.

Earlier, Israel said it was up to Egypt to reopen the Rafah Crossing and allow humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip.

"The key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends," Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Katz said in comments circulated to reporters.

Katz said he had spoken with his British and German counterparts about "the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing", adding he would also speak with Italy's foreign minister later on Tuesday.

The Palestinian group Hamas, which has been running Gaza, will not "control the Rafah crossing", Katz said, citing security concerns over which Israel "will not compromise".

Egypt has consistently said the crossing has remained open from its side throughout the conflict that began between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.

Cairo has been one of the mediators in stalled ceasefire talks, but its relationship with Israel has come under strain since Israeli forces seized the Rafah Crossing on May 7.

The United Nations and other international aid agencies said the closing of two crossings into southern Gaza - Rafah and Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom - had virtually cut the enclave off from outside aid.

The UN had already warned, prior to the closing of the two crossings, that Gaza is on the brink of famine.

Israel launched its current Gaza offensive following an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas-led gunmen who rampaged through Israeli communities near the enclave, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The Palestinian death toll in the war has now surpassed 35,000, according to Gaza health officials.

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Arab World

Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."