Egypt demands Israeli withdrawal to reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing

Delegates from Egypt, Israel and the U.S. concluded their discussions on the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, with Cairo insisting on Israeli withdrawal from the terminal to reopen it, according to local media.

"Egypt adhered to its firm position on the need for Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to resume its operation," the state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel said, citing a high-level source.

"The Egyptian security delegation affirmed Israel's full responsibility for humanitarian aid not entering the Gaza Strip," the source said.

According to the source, Egypt called for immediate action to allow the entry of at least 350 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip daily, including all necessary food, medical, or fuel supplies.

There was no comment from Israeli or U.S. authorities on the report by the time of publishing this report.

Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on the Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into Gaza, since Tel Aviv captured the Palestinian side of the terminal last month.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7, killing more than 36,400 people, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and injuring over 82,600 others, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.