On Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denied reports circulating about the existence of arrangements with the United States to prepare lists of names of patients and students wishing to leave the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid, confirmed through the ministry’s account on the “X” platform that there is no truth to what is being circulated through some social media regarding a phone call between the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the United States’ Anthony Blinken, which discussed arrangements to register lists of patients And students wishing to leave Gaza.
Abu Zeid added: “There was no telephone contact between the two parties,” stressing that “it is not true that there are any arrangements of this kind,” without adding more details.
This denial came in light of the continued closure of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side since the Israeli army took control of it last May 7, as the crossing was the only outlet for the exit of Palestinian patients and students according to prior lists, before it was closed against the backdrop of an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Earlier the same day, the private Egyptian “Cairo News” channel quoted an unnamed high-level source as saying: “Egypt reaffirms its rejection of any operation of the Rafah crossing in the presence of the Israeli occupation.”
ما يتم تداوله علي بعض وسائل التواصل الاجتماعى بشأن اتصال هاتفى بين وزيرى خارجية مصر والولايات المتحدة تناول ترتيبات لتسجيل قوائم للمرضى والطلبة الراغبين فى الخروج من قطاع غزة لا أساس له من الصحة شكلاً ومضموناً…لم يحدث أي اتصال، وليس صحيحاً وجود أية ترتيبات من هذا النوع.
— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) June 24, 2024
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