kayhan.ir

News ID: 4111
Publish Date : 20 August 2014 - 21:42

Deputy FM Raps Egypt for Delaying Gaza Aid

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian, lashed out on Wednesday at Egypt for delaying its humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
"Egypt has not issued a permit for Iranian planes carrying aid to Gaza despite the fact that it is now a long time Tehran has asked for this," Abdollahian told Iran’s Fars News Agency.
Regarding injured Palestinian children that need medical care, the deputy foreign minister said, "We expect Egypt to urgently fulfill its duties in this regard." Abdollahian met last week with his Egyptian counterpart in Tehran to discuss the Gaza situation and ways to deliver aid.
Three weeks ago, Iran had criticized Egypt for delaying permits needed to deliver aid to Gaza and to transport wounded women and children out of the area for medical treatment.
Egypt's government, at odds with Hamas that runs Gaza, has added its own border closure to an Israeli blockade of the narrow strip of territory, making some exceptions for humanitarian or other cases. It rejected the allegations of unnecessary delay.
"This is unacceptable. We hope Egypt will live up to its Arab, Islamic and humanitarian responsibilities against Zionist crimes in Gaza," Abdollahian said at the time.
Rafah was closed for security reasons on Wednesday as the war between the occupying regime of Israel and Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza reignited.
An official source from the Egyptian side of the crossing told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm al-Sabaa in a report on Wednesday that the Rafah Gaza border crossing was closed from the Palestinian side because of the fear of being hit from Israeli bombardment, stopping traffic.
Around 527 people crossed through the crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Tuesday, the Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.