EU's von der Leyen Commends Egypt's Aid Role at El Arish

At El Arish Airport, President von der Leyen praised Egypt's critical role in facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

She highlighted Egypt's efforts at the Rafah border crossing and the establishment of the El Arish hub for storing essential supplies. 

The European Union, as the largest donor to Palestinians, has significantly increased its humanitarian aid and organized numerous flights to deliver supplies. 

Coordination with Egyptian authorities, UNWRA, and the Egyptian Red Crescent has been pivotal. 

Furthermore, President von der Leyen discussed regional peace efforts with President El-Sisi and plans to meet Jordan's King Abdullah, emphasizing dialogue and the two-state solution as keys to lasting peace in the Middle East.

"Of course, we all agree that the volumes of aid reaching Gaza need to increase. This is, for example, the idea behind the proposal from Cyprus to set up a maritime corridor. We are in close contact with the Cypriot authorities to support them in defining the logistical parameters of such a corridor," she added. 

"And we stand ready to provide technical expertise in all relevant fields, based on their needs. We are also supporting Egypt as it helps wounded Palestinians, for example with medical equipment like anaesthesia machines from Sweden, or ventilators, oxygen concentrators and ultrasound machines from our European Union emergency reserve based in Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands. "