SIS Chairman: Egypt renews its regret for breaking Humanitarian Truce in Gaza

alhadath – cairo

Head of State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan, stated that Egypt renews its deep regret for breaking the week-long humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, thanks to Egyptian mediation efforts in cooperation with Qatar and the United States.
This truce succeeded in releasing 240 Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israeli prisons, in exchange for the release of 81 Israelis and 22 people of other nationalities who were detained in the Gaza Strip.
In parallel, the truce succeeded in expanding and regularizing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid and fuel to our besieged brothers in Gaza Strip.
Rashwan added that Egypt is currently making the utmost efforts with partners, in order to return to the truce as soon as possible, and to extend it for further periods, until a comprehensive ceasefire, to stop the blood of the Palestinian brothers, and to help them confront the dangerous humanitarian conditions in which they are living.

Until this happens, and in light of the breaking of the truce, Egypt will continue its cooperation with partners to work to accelerate the transfer of humanitarian and relief aid to the Gaza Strip, and to strive diligently to increase it, in proportion to the necessary and urgent needs of our Palestinian brothers there.

Rashwan reiterated that Egypt is permanently opening the Rafah crossing for individuals and goods, and that any obstacles at the crossing come from the other Israeli side, explaining that since the beginning of the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, 3,313 trucks of food and relief supplies, fuel and household gas have been entered, and 682 injured people have been received, 11,067 Egyptians and foreign nationals were evacuated from the Strip.
Head of SIS highlighted the main principles that have governed the Egyptian statue since the outbreak of the war and crisis, which are:
= The Palestinian issue is considered an Egyptian national security issue, and therefore the Egyptian political leadership is moving towards it with all the seriousness commensurate with it, and consistent with the historical, consistent and central Egyptian role in supporting it for many decades, and always adhering to the historical rights of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent, sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, on its territory within the limits of 4, June, 1967, and without any derogation of these rights.
= Total condemnation of collective punishment policy pursued by Israel towards the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the decisive rejection of the criminal practices of the occupation army, by bombing, killing and wounding tens of thousands of civilians in the Strip, 70% of whom are children and women, and its deliberate targeting of infrastructure, hospitals, schools and United Nations shelter places, beside killing of ambulance crews, journalists and UNRWA employees.
= Rejection of the policy of forced displacement carried out by Israel of the people of Gaza, and of the attempts to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip towards Sinai or push it towards Sinai, which is the red line that Egypt will not allow to be crossed, regardless of the results, because it harms national security and Egyptian sovereignty over the entire national territory, and what it will lead to from a complete liquidation of the Palestinian issue and emptying it of its content, and it confirms that no one can impose a fait accompli by force, as the Egyptian state possesses all the tools that enable it to preserve its land and its national security.
Rashwan pointed out that Israel is still challenging the entire international community with its continuous bombing of the Gaza Strip from north to south, and its initiation of an unprecedented aggression against the Khan Yunis area through extremely violent bombing and ground incursions, and in the north the battles are still raging intensely.
He added that It turned the strip as a whole into a war zone without a safe place for citizens, to push the Palestinians to leave their lands towards what it called “safe areas” in the south towards Rafah, which are areas that lack all the services necessary for life, such as water, food and shelter, and are not protected from bombing and fighting.
Rashwan continued that this confirms what the Egyptian state warned – and is still warning – that what is happening is part of an Israeli plan to push the Palestinians towards displacement, empty the Gaza Strip of its population, and liquidate the Palestinian cause once and for all, which Egypt will never allow. In conjunction with its war on Gaza, Israel is escalating its bloody operations in a less vociferous manner in the West Bank, to push the Palestinians to migrate towards Jordan.
Rashwan explained that in light of the rapid developments of the Israeli war on Gaza, and the emergence of other areas of tension and conflict in the region, Egyptian state emphasizes that global security is closely linked to any developments in the Middle East region, and that any conflicts and military confrontations in the region will create global security challenges, This requires the international community to abandon double standards, take quick and decisive action to immediately stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza, and apply international and humanitarian law to all crimes committed by the occupying army.
The head of the State Information Service concluded his statements by emphasizing that Egypt will remain in full solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people, reject and condemn the crimes committed by the Israeli army in the Palestinian territories, and its flagrant violations of international and humanitarian law and all international conventions, and that it will continue to move along various political, diplomatic and humanitarian paths to stop this aggressive war, and restore negotiation paths to find a peaceful settlement to this conflict that guarantees all the historical rights of the Palestinian people.