Egyptian president Al-Sissi denounces “a war of genocide and systematic famine” in Gaza

During a joint press conference with his Vietnamese counterpart, Tuesday, August 5, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi denounced a war that “exceeded all logic” in Gaza. He said that Israeli operations were no longer aimed at the release of the hostages, but now constituted “a war of famine and genocide”.

The Egyptian President recalled that before the conflict, between 600 and 700 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza every day, a figure now fell to zero. He again called on the European Union and the United States to intervene to end a war which “aims to destroy and systematically destroy” the Gaza Strip, warning that “history will judge very severely” the silence of the world. In response to the accusations according to which Egypt participated in the blockade, it denounced a “bankruptcy”, claiming that more than 5,000 aid trucks stationed on the Egyptian side, ready to enter the enclave, more than 70 % of which were supplied by Egypt.

The Egyptian president also rejected any responsibility in the closure of the Rafah’s crossing point, assuring that he had “never been closed on the Egyptian side”, despite four destruction since the start of the war. “Israel controls the other side, the Palestinian side, and it must be clear for everyone,” he insisted.

Al-Sissi concluded by affirming that Egypt, which was strong of its historic role, had always been “a door for the delivery of aid to Gaza”, but that it would never be a way out for the deportation of the Palestinians “.

The declaration of the Egyptian president contrasts with his usual prudent tone on the Palestinian file. If he reaffirms his humanitarian support in Gaza, he sticks to a verbal conviction without going so far as to question the security agreements with Israel. In a context of increasing criticism on the role of Egypt in the blockade, this outing aims as much to defuse internal pressure as to redoing its image internationally.