on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, humanitarian aid at the heart of tensions

The Egyptian Prime Minister, Moustafa Madbouli, spoke on Tuesday, October 31, during a long press conference at the foot of the Rafah border post, very close to the border with the Gaza Strip. At the foot of this terminal, located on the Egyptian side, you can hear the regular flight of planes in the area. We can also see some smoke escaping from the other side of the wall, on the Palestinian side. There, the bombings continue.

Here in Sinai, humanitarian aid trucks are waiting to enter. Several dozen trucks are also parked there, waiting to pass through the border post. In the early morning, the road leading to Rafah, from the region where most of the aid is stored, is ultra-secure. The Egyptian Prime Minister insisted on the absolute need to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Delivery of humanitarian aid too slow

During the press conference, the The head of the Egyptian government said that Israel was slowing down the process of delivering aid, systematically demanding to control the contents of each truck. Each of the vehicles must also undergo an initial check in Egypt, then travel nearly 50 kilometers to a new checkpoint in Israel before being able to access Gaza. In any case, this is what the authorities and the Red Crescent in Egypt told franceinfo.

There are numerous checkpoints here and the Egyptian army has even deployed columns of tanks near the control zones. All this in a landscape still marked by the fighting against the Islamic State in the region. Most buildings in this area of ​​Sinai are still riddled with bullet holes and ambulances are parked near the border. Everyone here has in mind the Israeli fire which hit Rafah and injured nine Egyptian border guards last week.