Since the Gaza war broke out in October, Egypt has faced a difficult dilemma, seeking both to show solidarity with the Palestinians and to preserve its relations with neighbouring Israel.
The Rafah crossing point between Egypt and Gaza is in theory the besieged territory’s only opening to the world that is not under direct Israeli control.
In practice, Israel retains control over all goods passing through the crossing, including humanitarian aid intended for Gaza, which is suffering dire food shortages that the UN fears will spark “starvation”.
