Aid groups in Gaza say they are running low on fuel and are unable to get more from Egypt, straining their operations on the ground.
As Hamas and Israel continue to disagree over some of the finer details of a hostage and cease-fire deal for Gaza, there’s one issue that’s preventing the two parties from restarting formal negotiations: aid shipments.
Since the Israel Defense Forces entered Rafah earlier this month — shutting down Gaza’s southern border crossing with Egypt — Cairo has reportedly refused to let fuel trucks pass through into the enclave. And two senior administration officials say Egypt has stopped all aid shipments through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Egyptian officials had for months pressed Jerusalem not to move forward with a Rafah ground invasion, claiming it would bring chaos too close to its border and threaten its security. It also pushed back against Israel taking over the Rafah border crossing.
Israel went into Rafah anyway. And in response, Egypt restricted the aid shipments.
“It’s all stopped,” the official said, referring to Egypt’s shipments through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The move by Egypt has sparked tensions between Cairo and Jerusalem. The current cease-fire deal on the table hinges in part on the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, officials say. If Egypt were to restart the shipments, it would significantly improve the aid situation on the ground, defuse tensions, and potentially allow for talks to restart, according to the two senior administration officials and two other people familiar with the situation.
Sources were granted anonymity to discuss the situation with Egypt in order to protect their ability to help get fuel and other much-needed aid into Gaza.
“Aid groups inside Gaza are in desperate need of this fuel,” one of the senior officials said. “Without it, they can’t operate. And without the greater flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the deal can’t get done.”
Top U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power, have pressed Egyptian officials in recent days to restart fuel shipments. But Cairo has so far refused.
The two people familiar with the situation and two other aid workers briefed on Egypt’s reasoning said Cairo is withholding the fuel in an effort to complicate Israel’s ability to aid the humanitarian effort inside Gaza during its Rafah operation.
“It’s the blood of the response,” said Scott Anderson, the director for Gaza for UNRWA, the main aid group operating in Gaza. “The lack of fuel forces us to choose: Do you keep bakeries running or hospitals running or the sewage pumps running? And not doing any of those has different consequences, but they all have consequences to people.”
The decision by Cairo has severely undercut aid groups’ ability to not only transport aid into Gaza but also to prop up aid operations, including at hospitals, angering Biden officials.
Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/21/egypt-aid-restrictions-gaza-ceasefire-negotiations-00159249