Israeli delegation headed to Cairo to discuss opening of Rafah crossing: Israeli media

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli security delegation will head Sunday to Cairo to discuss the reopening of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza with the aim of delivering humanitarian aid to the enclave, the Israeli broadcasting authority claimed Saturday.

Israel seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7, after a military operation that ignored international appeals.

Cairo responded by rejecting coordination with Tel Aviv regarding the crossing, accusing it of causing a humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.

The broadcasting authority said on its website that “the delegation will hold security meetings with Egyptian and American officials in Cairo on Sunday.”

It claimed that Israel informed Egypt that it was ready to withdraw army forces from the crossing and place them farther away, according to operational considerations.

Israel “no longer rules out the possibility of Palestinians managing the crossing,” said the broadcaster.

More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. Most of those killed have been women and children, with more than 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala