Oct. 15 (UPI) — The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will be reopened, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday amid anticipation of an Israeli ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave where fears of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis grow.
The border crossing is essentially the only exit for Palestinians from Gaza and the only entrance for humanitarian supplies, but it has been closed for much of the week-old war Israel has been waging against Hamas over its surprise attack against the Middle Eastern country Oct. 7.
Hamas killed more than 1,300 Israelis and took more than 120 hostages in the attack, and Israel has responded with incessant bombing of the Palestinian enclave, killing more than 2,670 people and wounding 9,600 others.
Early Friday, Israel’s military ordered some 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south of the Wadi Gaza amid a military buildup at the enclave’s perimeter and expectations of a ground invasion.
As Palestinians have fled south, aid including medical supplies for Gaza has been blocked from moving north at the Rafah border crossing, with the World Health Organization warning Saturday that “every hour these supplies remain on the Egyptian side of the border, more girls and boys, women and men, especially those vulnerable or disabled, will die.”
The WHO has said that while the Egyptian side of the crossing remains accessible, the Israeli side is closed, and the United Nations has called for unimpeded access for humanitarian supplies.
Following a whirlwind trip through Israel and six other nations over the weekend, Blinken told reporters Sunday in Egypt that the border will be reopened.
“Rafah will be reopened,” he said. “We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, a mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it.”
No specifics on when the crossing will be reopened were offered by Blinken, but U.S. President Joe Biden earlier Sunday appointed Ambassador David Satterfield as the U.S. special envoy for Middle Eastern Humanitarian Issues.
In a statement, the president said Satterfield will be tasked with efforts to “bring urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza, in coordination with the U.N., Egypt, Jordan, Israel and other regional stakeholders.”
Blinken explained that Satterfield will be “on the ground tomorrow to work out all the practical details so we can move this forward.”
“We are now very actively engaged with countries in the region, with the United Nations, with Israel, to make sure, to the best of our ability, that people can get out of harm’s way and that the assistance they need — the food, water, medicine — can get in,” he said.
The World Food Program has said online that more than 100 metric tons of food has been sent to Rafah and “the minute humanitarian access is secured, our teams will deliver this emergency assistance to families.”
Electricity, water and fuel had been cut in Gaza, but Israel’s minister of energy Israel Katz has since announced that water to the south of the Gaza Strip will resume as a result of conversations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Biden.
Despite the resumption of water, in normal times, the south side of the enclave has fewer resources, officials said.
On Sunday, the IDF reiterated its call for northern Gazans to move south, stating it will not carry out any operations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. after it came under criticism for its bombing killing civilians heeding it orders.
“Your safety and that of your families matters,” it tweeted. “Be assured, Hamas leaders have already ensured their safety and that of their families.”
Residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza, in the past days, we’ve urged you to relocate to the southern area for your safety. We want to inform you that the IDF will not carry out any operations along this route from 10 AM to 1 PM. During this window, please take the opportunity… pic.twitter.com/JUkcGOg0yv— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 15, 2023
