Border town caught in crossfire over aid passage

Rafah: This border town that sits between a war zone and the country trying to end the war has increasingly become the crux of a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel.

Egyptian mediators on Thursday continued to hold talks with representatives of Israel, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and Hamas to stop the conflict in the Gaza Strip as it entered its 14th day.

Israel launched air raids on Wednesday on the Palestinian side of Rafah, targeting at least 25 houses alleged to contain some of the 1,500 tunnels under the border that serve as the supply lifeline for Hamas.

On Thursday, Gazans reported heavy bombardment in the Israeli offensive that has killed some 800 Palestinians, and the United Nations said it was halting aid deliveries after a UN truck driver was killed by Israeli tank fire.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gaith said on Thursday that Egypt will ask Israel and Hamas for a temporary truce "that would lead to a consolidated permanent ceasefire".

Then, he said, negotiations would take place with the European Union and the PNA, which lost control of Gaza, on how to open Rafah.

Israel maintains that it will only accept a ceasefire if the deal provides for a mechanism to halt arms smuggling across the border. The issue for Egypt is how to allow humanitarian supplies and doctors across while not allowing Hamas militants in and out of Gaza.

So far, Egypt has kept the crossing largely shuttered, which has drawn vehement criticism in worldwide protests for not allowing in more relief supplies and doctors. On Wednesday, doctors from different organisations clustered on the Egyptian side of the border in hopes of crossing over to Gaza. None received permission to enter.

"We have been trying to get permissions to cross the border," says Ahmad Elwi, a surgeon and member of the Cairo-based Arab Medics Syndicate.

Medical supplies

"We came upon a call from Palestinian hospitals who asked for medics' help since they haven't been able to cope with the increasing number of the wounded."

In front of the border, trucks filled with medical supplies were lined up at the main gate.

They waited for hours for Israel to stop its raid on Wednesday during a temporary ceasefire to allow in humanitarian aid. When the gate opened, Egyptian police searched each truck, making sure that only medical supplies were loaded, while getting rid of foodstuffs.

According to Khalid Attiyah, the general coordinator of the Rafah border post, foodstuffs can only be passed through the Karm Abu Salem border post, which is some 4km away.

"Today alone there was some 350 tons of foodstuffs crossed over the borders. This perfectly explains how the borders are open and ready to pass on aid," says Attiyah.

In the meantime, the borders are closed for individuals and medics. "The situation does not allow us to send doctors now, since we can't guarantee their safety."

The medics from the Arab Doctors Syndicate said they were aware of the security threats. "We presented a statement to the Egyptian government saying that we want to cross to Gaza on our own responsibility," says Elwi, one of 46 waiting medics.

The Arab Medics Union is headed by Abdul Monem Abul Futtouh, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood member, Egypt's main opposition group. While the Brotherhood has been critical of the Egyptian government's policy toward Hamas, it's unknown whether the doctors' requests are being denied because of their affiliation with the Brotherhood.

Many doctors from international organisations have been waiting in Rafah for permission to cross into Gaza. None of them have been allowed, except for two Norwegian medics.