According to US Vice President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Al-Sisi has agreed to open the Rafah border crossing so that about 20 trucks can deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. During a press conference on board Air Force One, Vice President Joe Biden stated that his main objective when traveling to Israel was to quickly deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“And so, I have been on the phone for the last — I don’t know. We’ve been on the ground a while. That’s why we haven’t taken off — with El-Sisi. I don’t think I was on that long. It was about probably half an hour. And both — my team here was with me. And he agreed that what he would do is open the gate — to do two things: one, let up to 20 trucks through to begin with. Satterfield, my ambassador, is down there in — not down there — in Cairo now. He’s going to coordinate this. He has my authority to do what is needed to get it done,” Biden said in a press gaggle on board Air Force 1 at Ramstein base, Germany.
Biden replied “yes” when asked if he was referring to the Rafah crossing and continued, “They’re going to patch the road. For these trucks to pass, potholes must be filled. And that will happen; tomorrow, they anticipate it to take about eight hours. Therefore, nothing might roll through until — what day is it today? I can’t keep track of the days. Thursday? Wednesday? most likely through Friday. When further questioned by reporters about Sisi’s agreement to open it, the President responded, “Yes. for this reason. for this reason. To open it up for this purpose—for the trucks to be able to pass—rather than to let many people out.