Gazans must 'remain on their land': Egypt's Sisi

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Thursday that Gazans must "stay steadfast and remain on their land," amid calls for Cairo to allow safe passage for civilians stuck in Gaza.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is the only passage in and out of the coastal enclave not controlled by Israel, and has been closed following Israeli bombardments of the crossing.

Israel has indiscriminately bombarded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday, killing 1,537 Palestinians. The bombardment began following a shock Hamas attack on Israel that has killed 1,300 people.

Israel looks poised to conduct a ground invasion into Gaza and has ordered Palestinians to leave their homes in the north of the enclave, raising fears of a "Second Nakba". 

Egypt is committed to ensuring the delivery "of aid, both medical and humanitarian at this difficult time," Sisi said, affirming Cairo's "firm position" of ensuring Palestinians' "legitimate rights."

But he stressed, in a speech at a military ceremony, that Gazans must "stay steadfast and remain on their land."

The tiny coastal enclave home to 2.4 million people, already blockaded since 2007, is under siege by Israel which has cut off water, food and power supplies.

Six days of relentless Israeli air and artillery strikes have reduced entire districts to rubble.

Egypt, historically a key intermediary between Hamas and Israel, has called for donors to send humanitarian aid bound for Gaza to El Arish airport but has pushed against calls to allow fleeing Palestinians into its land.

There are fears that if Gazans flee to Egypt, Israel will not allow them to return to their homes.

In recent days, Egyptian media has quoted high-level security sources warning against a mass exodus of Palestinians, who were being "forced to choose between death under Israeli bombing or displacement from their land."

Israeli forces have destroyed at least 752 residential buildings since launching its aggression against the coastal enclave six days ago, while an estimated 89 schools were attacked - nine of which have become no longer operational ⬇ pic.twitter.com/pQXKy2Z0Dc

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) October 12, 2023

Egypt has pushed for a diplomatic solution and called for restraint from both sides, while Sisi has asserted his country's national security was his "primary responsibility."

On Thursday, he said that Egypt was already hosting "nine million guests, as I call them, from many countries who came to Egypt for security and safety."

But the case of Gazans "is different", he said, because their displacement would mean "the elimination of the [Palestinian] cause."

Egypt was the first Arab state to normalise relations with Israel in 1979, six years after the 1973 war, with Egypt regaining the Sinai Peninsula from Israeli control.