CAIRO, June 30. /TASS/. Egypt doesn’t plan to build a new crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip near the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, the Al-Qahira Al-Ihbariya TV channel reported.

According to the television channel’s source in Egypt’s security agencies, Cairo "did not give its consent to relocate the Rahaf crossing on the border with Gaza or to build a new one near Kerem Shalom." Another high-ranking source confirmed that the Egyptian authorities "still insist that Israel leave the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing so that it could resume its operation."

Until recently, Rafah had been the only crossing to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and evacuate the sick and wounded to Egypt. However, it has been practically closed for about two months after the Israeli military took its Palestinian side under control on May 7. Following this, Cairo said on June 11 that it would not agree its further actions around the crossing with Israel. Several days later, it blamed Israel for the crossing’s closure and problems with humanitarian deliveries to Gaza. Currently, humanitarian cargoes reach the enclave via the Kerem Shalom crossing, with a larger part of them still coming from Egypt.