Egypt comments on protests outside its embassies and responds to 10 'claims' regarding the Rafah crossing and aid to Gaza

SadaNews - The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to 10 "claims and lies" circulating about the Rafah crossing and the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in a post on its Facebook page.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry commented on the protests outside Egyptian embassies in several countries and accusations against Egypt of participating in the blockade of Gaza, closing the Rafah crossing, and not providing assistance.

The ministry stated that protests outside Egyptian embassies "do not support the Palestinian cause, but rather do the opposite," explaining that the protests "contribute to diverting international and Arab public opinion away from the real culprit behind the humanitarian disaster in the region, and ease the mounting international pressure in recent times to stop the brazen Israeli violations being committed against the Palestinian people, and causes attention to be diverted from the crimes being suffered by…"

The ministry emphasized that "protesting outside Egyptian embassies undermines Egypt's historic role in supporting the Palestinian cause and the sacrifices that Egypt has made since the Nakba, and serves entirely the interests of the Israeli occupation, providing it with a free gift."

The Egyptian responses to the "claims" accusing Egypt of the blockade of Gaza and closing the Rafah crossing are as follows:

Claim: Egypt has failed to provide assistance to the Gaza Strip

Truth:

Deliberate misinformation. Egypt has provided 70% of the total humanitarian and relief aid that has entered Gaza since the beginning of the war.

Egypt organized an international ministerial conference on humanitarian response in Gaza in December 2024, with the participation of more than 100 delegations to support the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.

Egypt has received hundreds of injured and ill Palestinians in Egyptian hospitals.

Egypt has prepared a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza and has successfully garnered support for it from the vast majority of countries and intends to organize an international conference to mobilize the necessary funding for its implementation.

The complete Israeli blockade on Gaza has prevented the flow of aid commensurate with the scale of the humanitarian disaster in the region.

Claim: The Rafah crossing is a one-sided crossing controlled by Egypt

Truth:

The crossing consists of a gate on the Egyptian side and another on the Palestinian side, separated by a road.

Crossing the gate on the Egyptian side does not count as crossing the border between the two sides, nor does it provide access to the Gaza Strip, as access to Gaza requires crossing the distance between the two gates and entering through the Palestinian gate for the entry of trucks and individuals, which has been impossible since the Israeli army occupied the Palestinian side of the crossing and completely prevented the entry of individuals and trucks, in addition to repeatedly targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing militarily.

Claim: Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing

Truth:

The crossing has not been closed on the Egyptian side since the beginning of the brutal war on Gaza.

The Rafah crossing gate on the Egyptian side is open, but the closure of the Palestinian gate prevents the entry of aid as there is no access to inside Gaza except from the Palestinian gate.

Although Rafah crossing is designated for individual transit only, Egypt has managed to allow thousands of trucks to pass through it since the outbreak of the war to expedite the provision of assistance.

Claim: Egypt is participating in the blockade of the Gaza Strip

Truth:

Deliberate lie. The Israeli occupying army is the one completely besieging the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air, and controls all access points leading to the region.

Claim: The Rafah crossing is the only outlet for the Gaza Strip

Truth: This is incorrect. There are several other crossings in Gaza, such as the Kerem Shalom crossing, Erez crossing, Sofa crossing, Nahal Oz crossing, Karni crossing, and Kissofim crossing, all of which are completely controlled by Israel.

Israel obstructs the entry of any humanitarian aid through all the crossings it controls, including the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.

Those who claim Egypt's responsibility for what is happening in the Gaza Strip should instead call for pressure on Israel to open all the crossings it controls.

Claim: Egypt prevents popular solidarity with Gaza

Truth:

This claim is groundless. Egypt has organized and facilitated visits for many citizens and officials of humanitarian organizations to the Rafah crossing and Al-Arish, as well as senior international officials such as the UN Secretary-General, and French President Macron, whose visit contributed to France's decision to recognize the Palestinian state, in addition to organizing visits for foreign ministers, senior officials, and representatives of civil society.

There are rules and regulations for conducting solidarity visits to those border areas according to the conditions on the ground, given their proximity to a war zone, and the need to take special measures to secure and protect participants in any marches or visits there.

Claim: Egypt has failed to support the Palestinian cause

Truth:

This is a slander and deliberate lie. No other country in the world has made efforts or sacrifices for the Palestinian cause like Egypt has; there should be no competition with Egypt.

Egypt plays a key role as a mediator in complex negotiations for a ceasefire, successfully achieving this on January 19, 2025, while Israel has failed to fulfill its commitments.

Egypt hosted the Cairo Peace Summit in October 2023 and the extraordinary Arab summit in March 2025 and prepared a comprehensive plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, which contributed to stopping displacement plans. It has also taken a leading role in coordinating Arab, Islamic, and international efforts regarding the Palestinian cause.

Claim: Protests outside Egyptian embassies support the Palestinian cause

Truth:

On the contrary. Protests outside Egyptian embassies undermine Egypt's historic role in supporting the Palestinian cause and the sacrifices Egypt has made since the Nakba, and they serve entirely the interests of the Israeli occupation, providing it with a free gift.

This contributes to diverting Arab and international public opinion from the true culprit behind the humanitarian disaster in the region, and eases the mounting international pressure recently to stop the brazen Israeli violations committed against the Palestinian people, and shifts attention away from the crimes suffered by the Palestinian people, targeting Egypt as the main pillar defending the rights of the Palestinian people, which severely harms the Palestinian struggle for independence and creates division among Arab peoples, benefiting Israel.

Claim: Egypt is not keen on stopping the famine in Gaza

Truth:

This is an illogical claim. Providing humanitarian aid is not only a moral and humanitarian duty but also serves national interests by stabilizing the Palestinian people and ensuring their steadfastness on their land, preventing their displacement, and avoiding the implementation of "alternative homeland" scenarios by pressuring the population through starvation and expulsion from their land.

Providing as much aid as possible is a top priority for Egypt for moral and humanitarian reasons, and also to ensure the halt of displacement plans and Israeli attempts to purge the cause by pushing the Palestinian people to leave their land.

Claim: Criticizing Egypt's role aims to alleviate suffering in Gaza

Truth:

There are deliberate attempts to systematically distort and undermine the Egyptian role, with the intent of distorting the facts to undermine Egypt's role, despair Arab peoples, create divisions among them, and weaken Palestinian steadfastness.