Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to be opened – US Secretary of State

Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, promised after a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi that the Rafah checkpoint between the Gaza Strip and Egypt "will be opened".

Source: Blinken, quoted by CNN

Quote: "Rafah will be open," he said. "We're putting in place with the UN, with Egypt, Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it."

Details: At the same time, Blinken said that while the US supports Israel's right to self-defence, he hopes Israel will respond "in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians".

CNN notes that Israel has closed two border crossings with the Gaza Strip and imposed a complete siege on the territory, blocking all supply of fuel, electricity and water. This made the Rafah checkpoint the only viable way out to remove people from the enclave and import goods into it.

Officials from several countries are involved in negotiations on when and to what extent the control point can be opened. It has been closed for much of the past week, with neither Gazans nor foreign citizens being able to cross it.

A Palestinian border guard told CNN that Egypt had blocked the crossing gate with concrete slabs. Egypt denied reports of the closure of its part of the crossing and said the Gaza side had been damaged by repeated Israeli airstrikes. Tonnes of humanitarian supplies for residents of the Gaza Strip accumulate on the Egyptian side of the border.

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