Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi accused Israel on Wednesday of holding up aid deliveries for the Gaza Strip as a pressure tactic, the latest sign of friction between the two countries that have maintained a blockade on the enclave.
"This is a form of pressure on the Gaza Strip and its people over the conflict and the release of hostages. They are using this as a pressure tool on the people of the Strip," Sisi said in comments to mark Egypt's national police day.
Israel, which denies holding up aid, launched an air and ground war in Gaza after Hamas militants stormed across its border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking hostages, about 130 of whom remain in captivity.
Israel's response has left more than 25,000 dead and caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with most of Gaza's 2.3 million people left homeless and acutely short of food, water, medicine and fuel.
More than 1.2 million people are crammed in the south of Gaza in and around the city of Rafah, raising fears in Egypt that Palestinians will be displaced across the border into its Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt, along with Qatar, has been negotiating with Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, efforts that Sisi said in separate comments later on Wednesday were being intensified.
Limited amounts of aid have been delivered through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, and since December, through the Israeli-controlled crossing of Kerem Shalom.
"We used to send Gaza 600 trucks a day. But for the past two to three days, we are not delivering more than 200 to 220 trucks (of aid) per day. How are these people (in Gaza) living?" Sisi said.
"Egypt's Rafah crossing is open 24/7 every day of the month. But the procedures taking place on the Israeli side for us to send in the aid without it being blocked by anyone, they are the reason (for holdups)."
Data from U.N. agency UNRWA shows fewer than 200 trucks entering Gaza daily since Jan. 24.
BORDER SECURITY
Israel says its role is only to inspect aid going into Gaza for security reasons, and has denied holding up or rejecting humanitarian supplies.
"Our inspection process is efficient, with us scaling up our capacities to maximize inspection capabilities," COGAT, an Israeli Defence Ministry agency that coordinates aid deliveries with the United Nations and humanitarian groups, said on social media platform X on Wednesday.
"There is no limit to the amount of aid that can enter Gaza."
Israel and Egypt, which have been at peace for more than four decades and deepened security and energy ties in recent years, have maintained a blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control there in 2007.
Earlier this week, Egypt issued a lengthy rebuttal of Israeli statements suggesting that the Egypt-Gaza border was not secure.
"These false allegations do not serve the peace treaty that Egypt respects, and it demands that the Israeli side to show its respect for it also," Diaa Rashwan, head of Egypt's State Information Service, said in a statement, asserting that weapons had instead been smuggled into Gaza from Israel, the West Bank and the Mediterranean.
Earlier this month, Egypt twice announced that it had thwarted drug smuggling attempts on its northeastern border, including one close to an inspection point for aid being sent to Gaza.
