Egypt has condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s continued attacks inside Gaza after it hit two refugee camps in its hunt for Hamas commanders and fighters.

The foreign ministry statement went on to warn against “the consequences of the continuation of these indiscriminate attacks that target defenceless civilians”.

Sky News was part of a group of foreign and Egyptian journalists, government supporters and activists who joined Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on a trip to the north Sinai and border.

We saw a large number of tanks and military hardware positioned on either side of the main road to the border crossing point, as well as a line of ambulances.

Follow live: ‘Young children among refugee camp blast victims’

Image:
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks during his visit to the crossing

Ambulances near the Rafah crossing
Image:
Ambulances near the crossing

Shortly after the prime minister made two speeches – during which he spoke passionately about plans to develop Sinai and the need to uphold humanitarian law in Gaza – the Palestinian border authority said 81 critically ill Gazans were being allowed to cross into Egypt on Wednesday for medical care.

A crowd of activists waving Palestinian flags was also at the Rafah crossing shouting “Free Gaza!” and “Free Palestine!”.

“It is hypocrisy by the West,” one man told us.

“They condemn Russia for bombing civilians in Ukraine but it’s not the same when it happens to Palestinians,” YouTuber Ahmed Ibrahim said.

The Rafah crossing on the Egypt side

The border crossing point is crucial as it’s the only one into Gaza which is not controlled by Israel.

But humanitarian aid trucks have been mostly stopped from taking vital supplies of food, aid and medicines, with Egypt blaming Israel for attacking the crossing and restricting movements.

Only around 50 have been going in over the past few days (66 on Tuesday) compared with around 500 daily before the Hamas attacks inside Israel on 7 October.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Rafah crossing
Image:
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators near the crossing

The attacks killed more than 1,400 people and saw more than 230 snatched and now held captive in Gaza by Hamas.

The crossing would be the main exit route for hurt and terrified Gazans but Egypt has been steadfastly refusing to house the Palestinians even temporarily, saying they would never be able to return.

Read more:
Israel targeted Hamas commander in camp strike
What footage tells us about ground offensive progress
Brother of Hamas victim says she was ‘pure angel’

Spreaker

This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.


Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.

Enable Cookies
Allow Cookies Once

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

“It would be the finish for Palestinians,” one activist told us.

“Gaza is Palestinian and Sinai is Egyptian and we stand with our Palestinian brothers and their right to remain there.”

Alex Crawford reports from Egypt with cameraman Jake Britton and producer Chris Cunningham.