Egypt Daily News - President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and President Joe Biden agreed on Friday to temporarily send humanitarian aid and fuel from the Kerem Shalom crossing, until a mechanism is reached to reopen the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.

President Sisi received a phone call from Biden, during which they discussed developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

The two presidents discussed the difficult humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life in the Strip, and the lack of fuel needed for hospitals and bakeries.

The statement continued: “In this regard, the two presidents agreed to pay quantities of humanitarian aid and fuel to be delivered to the United Nations at the Kerem Shalom crossing, on a temporary basis, until a legal mechanism is reached to restart the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.”

On the other hand, the White House said that Biden welcomed Egypt's commitment to allow the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. He also confirmed that the US President will send a high-level team to Cairo next week to make efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing.

In the same context, the Palestinian presidency confirmed the agreement to bring relief aid into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing on a temporary basis, until it is agreed that the Palestinian side will operate the Rafah crossing. A few days ago, Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which led to the cessation of the passage of aid from the Egyptian side.

The residents of Gaza are living on the brink of famine, with aid arriving to them severely slow, amid warnings of a further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis that the Strip is going through.