Israel demanded on Friday the evacuation of civilians from Gaza to the south. The problem is that Egypt does not intend to welcome these refugees. Cairo is instead banking on the option of a humanitarian corridor, in particular to transport aid.
The Israeli air force launched leaflets on Friday October 13 asking the population of Gaza to flee to the south of the territory. Hamas rejected this order to evacuate more than a million civilians, who are now trapped. The only way out for them is Egypt, but Cairo does not intend to let Palestinian civilians pass.
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The only point to escape the mousetrap of Gaza is the Rafah post which marks the border with Egypt. The other crossing point in the north of the territory, that of Erez, is closed. But Egypt absolutely does not want to receive a flood of civilians fleeing the fighting, particularly because it already welcomes between 50 and 70,000 Palestinian refugees on its soil. These are refugees from the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973 who never returned home.
The Egyptian authorities do not want the Sinai Peninsula to become the alternative territory of Gazans. President al-Sisi recently reiterated that Gaza residents must stay on their land. This idea of transferring the Palestinian population to the Sinai is an “old” plan by the Israeli authorities to put an end to this “rebel territory” once and for all.
Al-Alrish airport in Sinai, logistics platform
If there is therefore no question of welcoming civilians, Egypt is working on a humanitarian corridor. This is the option which is currently under negotiation, in particular with the United States. This would involve securing a passage via the Rafah border post for ambulances evacuating the wounded and for transporting emergency aid in the other direction, as was done during previous clashes between Hamas and Israel.
The town of al-Arish in northern Sinai, 50 kilometers from Gaza, was chosen by Egypt to receive international humanitarian aid. Its airport will serve as a logistics platform. King Abdullah II of Jordan has already ordered the dispatch of a plane filled with medicines and emergency supplies, as has Qatar, which chartered a plane carrying the same type of cargo.
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Despite everything, for this assistance to enter Palestinian territory, the green light is required from the Israelis who regularly bomb the Rafah border post on the Gaza side. However, for the moment, Israel maintains its complete blockade. Egyptian security said humanitarian aid would not move from al-Arish without an agreement with the Jewish state for its delivery to the Gaza Strip.