Gaza:
The US said Egypt has agreed to reopen its border with the Gaza Strip to allow aid to reach Palestinians, as the humanitarian crisis deepens for the 2.3 million people trapped in the enclave and anti-Israel protests erupt across the Middle East. Are enraged.
The area remained unstable after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital late Tuesday, which Palestinian officials said killed 471 people.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 3,478 Palestinians had been killed and 12,065 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on the besieged enclave since October 7.
Protests broke out in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and elsewhere amid outrage across the Middle East over the attack on the hospital. TV footage showed Lebanese security forces firing tear gas and water cannon at protesters who threw projectiles near the US Embassy in Beirut.
Palestinian officials said Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank during protests, while Palestinian official news agency WAFA said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man during a raid on the West Bank village of Budras. Murdered.
People attending the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks. Photo: Reuters
US President Joe Biden discussed aid for Gaza by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi late Wednesday while returning home from a less than eight-hour visit to Israel.
Biden told reporters that Sisi had agreed to open the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza to allow about 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the enclave, where people are receiving food after an Israeli blockade and airstrikes. , There is a dire shortage of water, fuel and other essentials. day before.
Biden did not give a timeline for the inauguration, but US national security spokesman John Kirby said it would take place in the coming days after the road is repaired.
Biden had planned to meet with Arab leaders amid fears the conflict could spill beyond Gaza. But Jordan canceled its planned summits with Egypt and the Palestinian Authority after the hospital attack.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also highlighted the risk of the Gaza conflict becoming regional and that Russia was in contact with Turkey on the matter, Interfax news agency reported.
UN favors 100 trucks per day
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that the organization is seeking to bring aid deliveries to Gaza to 100 trucks per day, the level it was before the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Biden was scheduled to speak from the White House at 8 pm Thursday (0000 GMT) about the US response to Hamas attacks against Israel and Russia’s war against Ukraine, the White House said. Apart from this, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was to visit Israel on Thursday.
Palestinians work among the debris at the site of the Israeli attack. photo reuters
Egypt, which previously said the Rafah crossing is not technically closed but is inactive due to Israeli air strikes, said Sisi and Biden agreed to provide aid to Gaza “in a sustainable manner.” They were coordinating aid efforts with international organizations under the United Nations.
During Biden’s visit, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would allow food, water and medicines to reach southern Gaza through Egypt.
Biden faces intense global pressure to secure an Israeli commitment to alleviate the plight of civilians in the small, densely populated coastal region. He pledged $100 million in US aid for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Netanyahu adviser Mark Negev said on CNN that Israel has agreed “in principle” to deliver aid to Gaza through Egypt, but “we do not want to see Hamas stealing aid directed at the civilian population. It There is a real problem.” ,
Israel reiterated that it would not allow aid across its border with Gaza until Hamas releases approximately 200 detainees captured during its cross-border raid.
Biden told reporters that he clearly agreed with Israel about the need to provide aid to Gaza. Earlier he said he would ask Congress this week for an unprecedented aid package for Israel, although no action is possible until the House of Representatives elects a new speaker.
A source familiar with the matter said Biden is considering asking $10 billion aid to Israel As soon as Friday.
This photo taken from Israel’s southern city of Sderot shows smoke billowing over the northern Gaza Strip during brutal Israeli bombardment. Photo: AFP
Biden said the United States would do everything possible to ensure that Israel remains safe, while also urging Israelis not to get angry, reiterating that the vast majority of Palestinians were not affiliated with Hamas.
“What separates us from terrorists is that we believe in the fundamental dignity of every human life,” Biden said. If this is not respected, “then the terrorists win.”
China will work with Egypt for stability
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Egypt’s prime minister on Thursday that their countries should work together to bring “greater stability” to the Middle East as the Israel-Hamas conflict weighs on the region.
The conflict has intensified since Hamas launched surprise attacks on Israel on October 7. In response, Israel has laid siege to Gaza, launched brutal airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, imposed a blockade and amassed troops on its border earlier than expected. Ground attack.
China has repeatedly supported the two-state proposal over the decades-long standoff before the conflict, but it has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause – albeit in favor of the nationalist Palestine Liberation Organization rather than Hamas.
According to multiple state media outlets, Xi met with Egypt’s Mustafa Madbouly in Beijing on Thursday and reiterated China’s support for “a two-state solution … to realize the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel.” .
“China is willing to enhance cooperation with Egypt and bring greater certainty and stability to the region and the world,” Xi said.
Beijing is willing to work with Cairo “to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries,” he said.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, Egypt has kept its border with Gaza mostly closed, where the humanitarian situation has become increasingly desperate.
However, Cairo said on Thursday it would allow “permanent” passage of humanitarian aid into the enclave through the Rafah crossing.
“China appreciates the important role played by Egypt in de-escalating the situation and supports Egypt’s efforts to open humanitarian corridors,” Xi told Madbouli.
“It is important to prevent the conflict from escalating or even losing control and causing a serious humanitarian crisis,” Xi said.
“The top priority is a ceasefire and an end to the war as soon as possible,” he said.
Relations between China and Egypt have warmed in recent months, with Cairo set to become an official member of the recently expanded BRICS group of emerging economies from next year.
“China congratulates Egypt on joining the BRICS cooperation mechanism and believes this will bring new momentum to BRICS cooperation,” Xi said in his meeting with Madbouly.
“China and Egypt are good friends who share common goals and trust each other, and good partners who work hand in hand for development and common prosperity,” he said.
“At present, the international and regional situation is undergoing deep and complex changes, and the world is experiencing rapid changes not seen for a century,” Xi said.
Russia sent 27 tons of humanitarian aid from Egypt to civilians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Moscow’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said.
“A special plane has taken off from Ramenskoye airport near Moscow for El-Arish in Egypt
Russian humanitarian aid will be handed over to the Egyptian Red Crescent for dispatch to the Gaza Strip, Deputy Minister Ilya Denisov said in a statement.
Denisov said the aid included “wheat, sugar, rice (and) pasta”.
