The presidents of the United States and Egypt agreed during a telephone conversation on Wednesday to cooperate on speeding up the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip besieged by the Israeli army, Washington and Cairo said late at night.

Joe Biden and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi underlined the need to maintain stability in the Middle East and prevent further escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, while reaffirming their commitment to the strategic relationship between their countries.

Speaking to reporters, Joe Biden announced that Egypt’s president had agreed to open the Rafah crossing on Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip – to “let up to 20 trucks through” to deliver humanitarian aid to the population. of the Palestinian enclave.

“If Hamas seizes them or doesn’t allow them to pass,” the effort will end, Biden said, giving “credit” to Egypt’s president for his “cooperation.”

The delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, home to approximately 2.4 million Palestinians, should be “systematic”, on the order of 100 trucks per day, Martin Griffiths, the UN coordinator for humanitarian aid, told CNN yesterday. humanitarian affairs.

Israel announced on Wednesday that it would not block the entry of humanitarian aid from Egypt, “as long as it is food, water and medicine (intended) for civilians in the southern part of the Gaza Strip” and “as long as the supplies do not reach Hamas ».