The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen for foreign national Palestinians at 9 am (local time) on October 16 when humanitarian aid will also start crossing into Gaza, NBC News reported citing Palestinian embassy representative Kamel Khatib.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the only remaining outlet to move people out of Gaza and send supplies into it. Notably, Israel has closed two border sites and the Rafah crossing has remained shut for much of the past week.
The US Embassy in Israel on October 16 said that desperate residents hoping to move from Gaza through the Rafah crossing might receive “very little notice” if it opens, CNN reported.
The US Embassy said, “It is unclear whether, or for how long, travellers will be permitted to transit the crossing. If you assess it to be safe, you may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing,” adding there may be “very little notice if the crossing opens and it may only open for a limited time”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence in his recent conversation with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi regarding the delivery of aid to people in Gaza and said that the Rafah crossing will be reopened.
He made the remarks to the press at Cairo Airport on October 15 and added that the measures are being put in place with the United Nations, Egypt, Israel, and others to get assistance in and to get it to people who need it.
“With regard to Rafah, I had a very good conversation with President El-Sisi. We have put in place – Egypt has put in place a lot of material support for people in Gaza. And Rafah will be reopened. 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,” Blinken said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz announced Israel’s decision to open the water to the south of the Gaza Strip after it was shut off following Hamas’s attack on October 7.
In a statement posted on X, Katz stated, “The decision to open the water to the south of the Gaza Strip, which was agreed upon between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Biden, will result in pushing the civilian population to the south of the Gaza Strip and will make it possible to tighten the general siege on Gaza in the areas of electricity, water and fuel, and will make it easier for the IDF to operate and destroy the Nazi Hamas infrastructure.”
ההחלטה על פתיחת המים לדרום רצועת עזה, שסוכמה בין רה"מ נתניהו לנשיא ביידן, תביא לדחיפת האוכלוסייה האזרחית לדרום הרצועה ותאפשר להדק את המצור הכללי על עזה בתחומי החשמל, המים והדלק, ותקל על צה"ל לפעול ולהשמיד את תשתיות החמאס הנאצים.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 15, 2023
Amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Israel Defence Forces on October 16, said that the terrorist group’s willingness to commit war crimes were visible from outer space. Taking to X, Israel Defence Forces posted satellite images to show how Israel looked before and after Hamas’s attacks on October 7.
While sharing the picture on X, the IDF stated, “The lengths Hamas is willing to go in order to commit war crimes are visible even from outer space. “In another post, Israel Defence Forces showed some of the confiscated weapons used by Hamas to kill Israelis. The IDF asserted that they will see to the removal of Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and weapon manufacturers in Gaza.
In the video, the Israeli soldier said, “All the munitions that you see in here is about approximately 20 per cent of what Hamas terrorists brought on their vehicles. You can see different kinds of shape charges, rockets, RPGs, grenades, all kinds of stuff around here.”
The lengths Hamas is willing to go in order to commit war crimes are visible even from outer space. pic.twitter.com/7c3oLeUeVQ
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 16, 2023
“You can see by the amount of munitions, the medical equipment and food that they brought with them that they were prepared for a long term in villages. You can see by the symbols on all the equipment that everything is homemade of Hamas, homemade production,” he added.
While sharing the video on X, the Israel Defence Forces stated, “These confiscated weapons are only 20 per cent of the ones used by Hamas to kill Israelis. In order to prevent further attacks, the IDF will see to the removal of Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and weapon manufacturers in Gaza.”
These confiscated weapons are only 20% of the ones used by Hamas to kill Israelis.
In order to prevent further attacks, the IDF will see to the removal of Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and weapon manufacturers in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/T0MLLgYrAw
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 16, 2023
Furthermore, IDF called Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar a “direct enemy” of Isreal and a threat to the entire world. Taking to X, IDF stated, “Yahya Sinwar is a direct enemy of the State of Israel and his genocidal terrorist organization–Hamas–is a threat to the entire world.”
(with inputs from ANI)
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