UN rapporteur warns Gaza neighbors cannot handle Israel’s harmful practices on their own after Egypt visit
“This will alleviate responsibility for Egypt and the Egyptian people,” she said.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territory, emphasized at the conclusion of her visit to Egypt that neighboring countries of Gaza cannot single-handedly handle the detrimental practices being carried out by Israel in the region.
Albanese emphasized that neighboring countries are unable to bear the burden of Israel’s harmful actions of violence and displacement in Gaza on their own.
Albanese proposed that the support to address Israeli actions in Gaza should be coordinated through the UN humanitarian coordinator for a more streamlined approach.
Albanese also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a cessation of Israel’s illegal control of Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory.
She added that people in Gaza are facing “unspeakable horrors,” highlighting the increased restrictions and abuses, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings faced by people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“Israeli policies spanning the occupied Palestinian territory are unquestionably endangering Palestinian existence on their land,” she said.
“The focus of the international community must zero in on the most likely implication – the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – and States must do everything in their power to prevent it,” Albanese noted.
Unrelenting support
Since the start of the war, Egypt has delivered substantial amounts of aid to Gaza, coming from Egyptian organizations and civil work society and other world countries and global agencies.
Egypt has repeatedly called for boosting aid to Gaza to prevent a looming famine, warning against Israel’s aid obstruction and use of hunger as a weapon against the Palestinians in the strip.
In April, Egypt announced increasing the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza through the Rafah border to 300 daily.
A total of 19,354 trucks have entered the strip through the Rafah crossing since the start of the war, Head of the State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan said on 7 April.
These carried 19,952 tons of medical supplies, 10,435 tons of fuel, 123,453 tons of food, 26,692 tons of water, 44,103 tons of other relief materials, and 2,023 tons of tents and tarpaulin.
Rashwan added that Egypt has received 3,764 injured and sick people from Gaza, along with 6,191 accompanying them, and provided 123 fully equipped ambulances.
Furthermore, the country has safely evacuated 66,759 foreign nationals (including those with dual citizenship) and 6,330 Egyptians from the besieged strip, he stated.
Since 7 October, Israel has killed over 34,000 people, injured more than 77,000, destroyed most of the infrastructure in Gaza, and displaced the majority of civilians.
