Report: Egypt unhappy over rate of aid entering Gaza, wants Israel to fund supplies

Egypt is not satisfied with the rate of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip and proposed that Israel should fund the supplies entering the enclave, Kan public radio reports, citing an Egyptian official.

The report says the idea was proposed to the United States and Israel in recent days. From Egypt’s perspective, Israel is responsible for the situation in the Strip and therefore should be completely responsible for trucks crossing into the enclave.

The Rafah border crossing, a key entry point for aid, has been closed since Israeli forces seized its Gazan side from Hamas in early May, with Egypt refusing to allow goods through while Israel controls the terminal.

Since then, Egypt and Israel have blamed each other for the blocking of aid deliveries through Rafah. The Egyptian authorities have refused to coordinate with the Israelis, preferring to work with international or Palestinian bodies.

The two sides held talks with US officials Sunday to discuss the reopening of the crossing.

The World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization said on Tuesday that it is bringing trucks of food aid into Gaza “at a fairly good clip” and is able to distribute them to its community kitchens in different areas of the territory through close coordination with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) agency of the Defense Ministry.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.