Israel-Hamas war: Egypt, last exit for war-fleers, reluctant to open its arms to Gazan

Egypt is under increasing pressure to take action as Israeli bombs continue to pummel Gaza, following last weekend's deadly attack on the Jewish state by freedom movement group Hamas.

Israel established a "complete siege" on Gaza after the Hamas attacks and shut down its two border crossings with the region, cutting off its access to water, power, and gasoline.

As a result, the only practical route for moving people and commodities into and out of the enclave is through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. However, it's not certain if even that crossing is open.

The Egyptian side of the crossing is open, but the Palestinian side is “non-functional” following multiple Israeli airstrikes earlier this week, a senior Jordanian official told CNN Thursday, adding that “the Jordanians and Egyptians are waiting for security clearance from the Israelis to allow (aid) trucks to cross without threat of another airstrike.”

The crossing has reportedly been closed, but Egypt's foreign ministry denied this on Thursday, claiming that frequent Israeli bombings on the Palestinian side have damaged it. Whether the crossing is open could not be independently verified by CNN.

The Biden administration is in discussions with Israel and Egypt about establishing a humanitarian corridor through which civilians can pass, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who stated on Wednesday.

However, Egypt is concerned about the possibility of thousands of Palestinian refugees entering its borders. The heavily populated coastal enclave, which is subject to frequent Israeli shelling, is home to more than two million Palestinians.

Israeli forces gathered 300,000 reservists on the border overnight on Thursday, apparently in readiness for a ground invasion, and ordered inhabitants of northern Gaza to leave their homes and travel south. According to the UN, that would entail the wholesale displacement of 1.1 million people, which would be "impossible" to complete in a day.

Following the attack on Israel on Saturday that left 1,300 dead, Hamas was targeted in reprisal, which resulted in more than 1,799 deaths in Gaza. Rights organisations have expressed worries about a potential humanitarian catastrophe as attacks escalate.

'We sympathise'

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt, compared the situation in his nation to a single house that is on fire in a neighbourhood while speaking at a military graduation ceremony on Thursday. He asserted that it is untrue that Egypt does not wish to assist its Palestinian neighbours.

“We are making sure that aid, whether medical or humanitarian, at this difficult time, makes it to the strip,” Sisi said, adding that “we sympathise.”

However, he cautioned that Egypt's capacity to assist is limited.