A fence sits locked at the entrance to the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Israel, as military operations continued in Rafah on May 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Egypt and the United States agreed on May 24 to temporarily send humanitarian aid to the United Nations in Gaza via Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing until legal mechanisms are established to reopen the Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said.

The agreement resulted from “the difficult humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life in the Strip, and the lack of fuel needed for hospitals and bakeries,” said the statement.

The agreement was reached in a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the statement said.

Egypt, on May 20, warned against Israel’s continued military operations in Rafah, which were preventing aid deliveries to the impoverished Strip.

Much of the aid delivered into Gaza since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in October has come through Egypt, entering through the southern Gaza city of Rafah or the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing on Israel’s border with the Palestinian territory.

Since May 5, just before Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, no trucks have crossed through Rafah and very few through Kerem Shalom, according to U.N. data.

Mr. Sisi and Mr. Biden also agreed to intensify international efforts to make Gaza ceasefire talks a success and end the “prolonged human tragedy experienced by the Palestinian people,” the statement added.