Fatah, Hamas hold talks on reopening Rafah Crossing
Fatah, which partially governs the occupied West Bank, is holding discussions in Cairo with Hamas on proposals put forward by Egypt on reopening the Rafah border crossing, an official from the group told the Anadolu news agency.
“Fatah is keen on an immediate end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, expediting aid delivery and initiating reconstruction,” Abdullah Abdullah told Anadolu.
“A Fatah delegation is present in Cairo discussing with a Hamas delegation Egyptian proposals related to reopening the Rafah border crossing [between Gaza and Egypt] and having the Palestinian Authority manage it on the Palestinian side,” he said.
Cairo has kept the Egyptian side of the crossing closed since Israeli forces occupied the Palestinian side in early May.
Abdullah did not disclose the nature of the Egyptian proposals, Anadolu said.
The talks come after the rival Palestinian factions met in China in July and agreed on steps to form a Palestinian unity government for Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank.
Israel is suffocating support for Palestinians: Aid worker
Ahmed Bayram of the Norwegian Refugee Council says the people of Gaza are suffering from a massive shortage of supplies.
“I think, at this rate, Israel is suffocating the support for these people,” he told Al Jazeera from Amman, adding that Gaza needs 25 supply trucks to enter each week instead of the “10 or 11” that bring aid into the enclave now.
“It is not only constraining access, the roads and the safety of the people and the aid workers, but also there is a systematic attempt here to keep people in the cold and keep them starving,” he said, adding the aid community is frustrated about the situation.
UN says Gaza has most child amputees per capita globally
The United Nations says Gaza now has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world after more than a year of Israel’s war on the enclave.
“Gaza now has the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world – many losing limbs and undergoing surgeries without even anaesthesia,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in remarks read out by his deputy at a Cairo conference aimed to accelerate humanitarian aid to the Strip.
UNRWA chief urges ‘robust’ framework to ensure aid enters Gaza
Philippe Lazzarini says the agency “remains the backbone of humanitarian response” in Gaza. In an address in Cairo, he called for the use of “a robust international legal and political framework” to ensure the continuation of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“Without this, humanitarians, however selfless and courageous, cannot stay and deliver,” he added.
The UN agency recently announced it was stopping aid deliveries to Gaza from the key Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing between Israel and Gaza due to the deteriorating security situation.
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