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GAZA: An Egyptian-controlled border crossing into Gaza is expected to reopen amid diplomatic efforts to get aid into the Hamas-controlled strip that has been under intense Israeli bombing since the group’s rampage that killed 1,300 Israelis on October 7.
Shocked by the assault on towns and villages, Israel is carrying out the most intense bombardment Gaza has ever seen, has imposed a strict blockade, and is preparing a ground invasion.
Hundreds of metric tons of aid from several countries have been held up in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula for days pending a deal for its safe delivery to Gaza and the evacuation of some foreign passport holders through the Rafah crossing.
“Rafah will be reopened. We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, a mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday.
Blinken did not give a specific time for the crossing to reopen. Veteran U.S. diplomat David Satterfield, appointed on Sunday as a special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, will arrive in Egypt on Monday to work out the details, Blinken said.
NBC News, citing a Palestinian official, reported the Rafah border crossing would open at 9 a.m. on Monday. Citing a security source, ABC News reported the crossing would open for a few hours on Monday, without providing details. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm either report.
Israel has urged exhausted Gazans to evacuate south, which hundreds of thousands have already done in the besieged enclave that is home to more than 2 million people. Hamas, which runs Gaza, has told people to ignore Israel’s message.
Palestinians in Gaza said Israel’s bombing campaign overnight was the heaviest since it launched its retaliatory attacks last week. Bombardment was especially heavy in Gaza City, with airstrikes hitting the areas around two of the city’s main hospitals, they said.
Reserves of fuel at all hospitals across the Gaza Strip are expected to last only around 24 more hours, putting thousands of patients at risk, the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) said on Monday.
Authorities in Gaza said at least 2,670 people had so far been killed by Israel’s retaliatory strikes, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. Another 1,000 people were missing and believed to be under rubble.
U.S. government officials say they are mobilizing to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, anticipating a brutal ground offensive.
President Joe Biden has urged Israel to follow the laws of war in its response to the Hamas attacks, and on Sunday said in a post on social media that “the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’ appalling attacks and are suffering as a result of them.”
In a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired on Sunday, Biden said Israel needed to eliminate Hamas, but warned that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza.
