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Palestinian government works to open Rafah crossing very soon — ambassador to Russia

Earlier, in a telephone conversation, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed on the supply of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. The government of Palestine is working to have the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip reopened tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, Palestinian Ambassador to Moscow Abdel Hafiz Nofal has told TASS.

"We have been discussing the possibility of opening the Rafah crossing point tomorrow or the day after tomorrow with the Russian side as well," the diplomat said. "We have been working on that. I mean our embassy and the Russian embassy in Egypt."

When asked whether the Palestinian side can confirm that the checkpoint will be opened within the expected timeframe, the ambassador replied: "No, we have no information on that. All that we know is that it will eventually be opened."

"The border crossing was attacked by Israeli forces. The clean-up effort will take one or two days," he added. "The people in Gaza have no food to eat and no fuel to warm themselves up. They have no water, no electricity, no medical assistance. They have nothing. It will be good to have an opportunity [to reopen the checkpoint]."

In an earlier phone conversation, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Joe Biden agreed on humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. The long-term humanitarian effort is expected to be carried out via the Rafah border crossing. Palestine’s Maan news agency reported on October 19 that the first 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the people of the Gaza Strip are set to arrive from Egypt on October 20.