US, Egypt agree on Gaza aid deal with Joe Biden's ‘going to end’ warning for Hamas

Israel-Hamas War Updates: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed to allow an initial group of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza by Friday. However, if Hamas militants confiscate the aid, “it will end,” Biden said.

“He (Sisi) agreed that he would open the gate to let up to 20 trucks through to begin with...They expect it will take about eight hours, probably until Friday... This has been a very blunt negotiation I've had, and so we want to get as many of the trucks out as possible. I guess, 150 or something... The commitment is if they cross the border, the UN is going to be on the other side and then distribute it, which is going to take a little time to set up, probably. But the point is that if Hamas confiscates it or doesn't let it get through, then it's going to end because we are not going to be sending any humanitarian aid to Hamas, which is going to be confiscated. That's the commitment that I have made…,” Biden told reporters on board Air Force One.

Getting humanitarian relief supplies to Gaza was one of Biden's top goals in his trip to the Middle East. But the effort suffered a setback when Arab leaders, including Sisi, cancelled a planned meeting with Biden in Jordan following a deadly hospital blast in Gaza, which Arab nations blamed on Israel. The blast at Gaza City's al-Ahli Hospital killed around 500 people and put immense strain on the already-struggling medical system.

Israel too said on Wednesday that it will allow Egypt to deliver limited humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The first crack in a punishing 10-day siege on the territory came even as the fury over the blast spread across the Middle East.

There were contradicting claims of who was behind the blast on Tuesday night, but protests flared quickly in the region as many Arab leaders said Israel was responsible. Hamas officials in Gaza quickly blamed an Israeli airstrike, saying hundreds were killed. Israel denied it was involved and released a flurry of video, audio and other information that it said showed the blast was instead due to a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. Islamic Jihad dismissed that claim.

HT could not independently verify any of the claims or evidence.

Israel stopped all supplies to Gaza soon after Hamas militants rampaged across communities in southern Israel on October 7. Israel has also carried out mass airstrikes on Gaza in response, killing thousands of Palestinians, and is preparing for a possible ground invasion.

As supplies run out, many families in Gaza have cut down to one meal a day and have been left to drink dirty water, news agency AP reported.

Roads are damaged on Gaza-Egypt border

Red Crescent for North Sinai Khalid Zayed told AP that Egypt must still repair the road across the border that was cratered by Israeli airstrikes. Over 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid are positioned at or near the Rafah crossing, Gaza's only connection to Egypt.

Supplies will go in under the supervision of the UN, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told Al-Arabiya TV. Asked if foreigners and dual nationals seeking to leave would be let through, he said, “As long as the crossing is operating normally and the (crossing) facility has been repaired.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the decision was approved after a request from Biden. It said Israel “will not thwart” deliveries of food, water or medicine from Egypt, as long as they are limited to civilians in the south of the Gaza Strip and don't go to Hamas militants. The statement made no mention of fuel, which is badly needed for hospital generators.

“Children, infants, women, soldiers, men, and elderly, some with serious illnesses, wounded and shot, are held underground like animals," said a statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum. But “the Israeli government pampers the murderers and kidnappers.”

Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel resumed on Wednesday after a 12-hour lull. Israeli strikes on Gaza continued, including on cities in the south that Israel had described as “safe zones” for civilians.

(With inputs from agencies)

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