Netanyahu assured, in an interview with the American station CNBC, that, if it depended on Israel, the Rafah crossing point would have been opened "yesterday".

"This is not a problem for us. We are not delaying the opening of Rafah", emphasized the Israeli Prime Minister.

Egypt and Israel have been accusing each other of blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing point, in the far south of the Palestinian territory.

Ignoring international warnings, the Israeli Army has been carrying out incursions in the east of Rafah for a week and has taken control of the Palestinian side of the border crossing with Egypt, a fundamental entry point for Israeli humanitarian aid and fuel.

Since then, Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, where a war is opposing the Israeli army to the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.

"I hope that Egypt takes into consideration what I am saying today", insisted Benjamin Netanyahu.

"No one should take the Palestinian population hostage in any way and I am not taking it hostage. I don't think anyone should do that", he added.

The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shukri, accused Israel this Tuesday of "distorting the truth" after Tel Aviv held Cairo responsible for the closing of the Rafah border, which connects Gaza to Sinai, and for the serious humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

In a statement, Shukri categorically rejected "the policy of distorting the truth" attributed to Israel, accused of "being solely responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza for its offensive in the small Palestinian territory and for having controlled the Rafah border crossing, the main entry point for vital assistance to the Palestinians, for a week now.

The head of Egyptian diplomacy responded in this way to a statement published by his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, on the social network X where he urged several European governments to pressure Egypt "to reopen the Rafah border post to allow the continuous entry of international humanitarian aid to Gaza". He also stressed that this decision "is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends".

According to estimates from the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), around 450,000 people have left Rafah since the first withdrawal order issued a week ago by the Israeli Army, which initially covered the easternmost neighborhoods on the outskirts of the town, where around 100,000 people were.

The current conflict was triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths, with Israel responding with an offensive that caused over 35,000 deaths and around 80,000 injured, according to reports from both sides.

Read Also: Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli base 30 kilometers from Lebanon (Portuguese version)