Egypt has condemned Israel’s military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah and its control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
Shortly after Israeli forces stormed the Rafah crossing, raising their flag, the Egyptian House of Representatives issued a statement holding all relevant parties, particularly the Israeli government, fully responsible for any actions leading to an escalation of events and undermining negotiations aimed at a peaceful solution.
Dr. Hanfi Jabali, Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, addressed the general assembly on Tuesday, describing the Israeli aggression as a “humanitarian nightmare.”
He emphasized that the parliament is closely monitoring developments in the Palestinian territories, which have taken various courses over the past twenty-four hours.
The Egyptian Parliament noted that Hamas had accepted a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in response to significant Egyptian and Egyptian-Qatari mediation efforts, aimed at ending the humanitarian crisis faced by the residents of Gaza for over two hundred days.
Despite this, the Israeli government had issued an evacuation warning to residents of eastern neighborhoods in Rafah, signaling a potential ground assault, followed by airstrikes and artillery barrages on the eastern part of the city.
The council urged all parties to understand the highly complex and sensitive situation and emphasized that there is no clear superiority in the conflict.
The council called for embracing dialogue and negotiation as the means to resolve disputes, listening to voices of reason over arms, and reaching an agreement that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, facilitates the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and initiates a process towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Furthermore, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli military operations in Rafah and the consequent Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.
Egypt views this serious escalation as threatening the lives of over a million Palestinians who rely on this crossing as a vital lifeline for Gaza, allowing the safe exit of the wounded and sick to receive treatment and the entry of humanitarian and relief aid.
Egypt called on the Israeli side to exercise maximum restraint and avoid brinkmanship policies with far-reaching effects, which could jeopardize the arduous efforts to reach a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
Egypt has also called on influential international parties to intervene and apply necessary pressures to defuse the current crisis, allowing diplomatic efforts to achieve their desired outcomes.
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had taken full control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in a military operation that began the previous day.
Israeli military vehicles entered the Philadelphia Corridor for the first time since 2005, and heavy smoke was seen near the Rafah land crossing as Israel intensified its artillery shelling on Tuesday.
The Egyptian Parliament, while condemning the escalation, praised Egypt’s role since the onset of the conflict in striving for peace, stopping bloodshed, and continually protecting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people despite facing significant challenges.