By Athena Papakosta

During his visit to Israel, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, underlined that Tel Aviv approved the humanitarian aid mission to the Gaza Strip “as soon as possible”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement underlining that it would not prevent Egypt from delivering food, water and medicine to civilians in southern Gaza adding that “Israel will not allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza unless they are returned the hostages”. Egypt also got the green light shortly before midnight.

As it was known, the United States will allocate the sum of 100 million dollars for humanitarian aid in Gaza and the West Bank. Shortly before midnight, the US president speaking on Air Force One to reporters announced that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had given the green light for the passage of 20 trucks full of humanitarian aid.

According to a statement from the White House, the two leaders agreed to work closely to encourage an “urgent and robust” response to the United Nations’ humanitarian appeal while, reaffirming their commitment to the strategic relationship that unites the US and Egypt – they also agreed on the need to maintain stability in the Middle East but also in the need to prevent the escalation of the conflict.

It was preceded by Egypt’s foreign minister speaking to the Al Arabiya network where he confirmed that there is an agreement between the country, Israel and other international actors to allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. However, when asked if foreign nationals would be allowed to leave the southern part of the Gaza Strip, he was more cautious, stressing that yes “as long as the crossing is functioning normally and the damage” suffered after four Israeli airstrikes is repaired.

The UN humanitarian coordinator, Martin Griffiths, speaking to the American network CNN, emphasized that the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza should be systematic and safe so that up to 100 trucks can pass daily. However, UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said there was “no update on if and when” the Rafah border crossing would be opened.

The Rafah crossing is on the southern border of the besieged Gaza Strip with Egypt where hundreds of tons of aid from various countries are “waiting” in the Sinai desert to pass through. At the moment, Rafah – controlled by the Egyptian authorities – is the only crossing since Israel has closed all others by imposing a strict blockade.

President Biden may have managed to negotiate the passage for the precious civilian aid to pass, but his visit to Israel will keep him tied to the development of the Israeli operation in the region. After all, at a time when the toll from the massacre at the bombed Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza has reached at least 471 dead, the American president expressed his full support for Israel, urging it not to be carried away by anger, and underlined that the evidence shows that a rocket “from a terrorist group in Gaza” hit the hospital.

Dozens of cities across the Arab and Muslim world are currently in an uproar with protesters accusing Washington of giving Israel the green light for its ground operation, and among the chants being heard is “Death to America.” Even in Bahrain, which is a close ally of the United States and one of two Arab states to have condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas. The second was the United Arab Emirates.