There will be no humanitarian corridor in Gaza for the civilian population to escape the bombs and the impending battle to the only possible place, Egypt. This condemns more than two million citizens of Gaza to wait for death, unless a possible alternative is applied, the influx of supplies condemns them to die of hunger and thirst, to not even be able to wash their hands .
The alleged broker was commented – without providing any details about what and with whom he was negotiating – by US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, in a press conference on Wednesday. On Monday, the Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, urged the citizens of Gaza to leave Egypt through the passage of; the next day, Israel bombed the city three times in less than 24 hours, and the terminal was hit and closed. In any case, and although Colonel Hecht corrected his words by saying that he thought Rafah was open, the truth is that Israel has no authority over this border crossing.
It has not been reported on the course of the negotiation on the departure of refugees to Egypt. Yesterday, the Efe agency quoted a Hamas source who rejected it, stating that “opening a safe passage to force our people to leave their homeland and suffer permanent death is not something that our people and our resistance are in agreement”.
As for Egypt, even if Hamas allowed them to leave, it has its reasons for closing access. In political terms, one does not want to risk a massive influx of refugees – which could well take place, given the degree of devastation in which Gaza is remaining -, because in the long run it would mean denying the right of the Palestinians to their own territories, especially if Israel ended up directly controlling the Palestinian side of the border. Beyond this ideological argument, this idea is in line with an old fear of the citizens of Gaza: that Israel intends to hand them all over to Egypt.
In practical terms, Egypt does not want a repeat of the 2008 blasting of the Rafah fence, in which many Palestinians fled the Israeli blockade into the Egyptian Rafah (those who had never been discovered that it was no more prosperous than the his). For the government of the Egyptian president, Abdul Fattah al-Sissi, the entry of refugees would be a focus of instability, and he can always argue that with them – and the possible presence of radical Islamists – there is a risk of an increase in terrorism in Sinai, never pacified.
The other option, entering humanitarian aid, would still be viable. But only in theory. In fact, on Tuesday the 10th, the passage of trucks to Gaza was prevented by the Israeli bombardment. Israel, which is responsible for the protection of Gaza’s civilians under international law, as the Strip remains territory under occupation, has said it will not lift the blockade on humanitarian access until Hamas releases its hostages. This refusal can be read in the sense that an attempt to break the blockade by passing trucks would be met with another bombardment like the one on Tuesday.
As reported yesterday in the Reuters agency, Egypt has concentrated the arrival of cargo planes – from Qatar, from – at Al-Arix airport, the nearest city to Sinai, 45 kilometers away, with hospitals where they can be transported wounded from Gaza, in less atrocious conditions than today.
The Rafah crossing was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, but yesterday Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said it was open for humanitarian aid, but without guarantees that Israel would not bomb, as Cairo has requested , there will be no such corridor and supplies will not leave Al-Arix.
Egyptian security sources said the United States has given assurances to both Egypt and Jordan that aid will reach Gaza. It must be remembered that the Egyptian intelligence services are traditionally responsible for mediating negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. There are not a few agreements between Israel and Hamas in which they have mediated (in particular, each of the truces in each confrontation), with the participation of Qatar. In the current crisis, they face their most difficult role.
