Hamilton Visits Egypt’s Rafah Crossing, Urges Israel to Open It

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton arrived at Egypt’s Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to see how aid is prepared for the territory, The Associated Press reported.

He toured the Egyptian side of the border and Red Crescent warehouses in nearby Al-Arish with North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer. He did not enter Gaza, and was not at Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing.

Al Jazeera reported that Megawer’s office posted videos of the briefing, and that Hamilton asked aid workers how often they can enter Gaza through Rafah.

At the Crossing Warehouses

The Guardian, citing AP, said he greeted workers with “Assalamu alaikum.” Egypt Today reported that he put on a Red Crescent vest and helped sort food parcels in Al-Arish.

In an Instagram post after the visit, Hamilton wrote that food trucks at the crossing were “lined up ready to go,” but “they’re regularly not allowed in or face major delays.” The first driver in line that he spoke to, he said, “had already been waiting over 12 hours.”

He also said he saw supplies “rejected for crazy reasons,” including sleeping bags, first-aid kits, medical equipment, wheelchairs and footballs for children.

Hamilton’s Call for Access

On Wednesday, Hamilton called on Israel to reopen the crossing so supplies could move from Egypt into Gaza, Al Jazeera reported.

“The people in Gaza and Palestine are in such urgent need that they could hardly need this aid more than they do right now,” he said, according to the network. “That’s why we really need to put pressure on Israel and work together to make sure this aid reaches them.”

In the same Instagram post, he wrote: “The past three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza is appalling. It’s an injustice for people to being denied their freedom, their safety and their dignity. No human being should be treated as though their life matters less.”

“Israel needs to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire and let the aid trucks in. No excuse,” he added.

Aid Waiting Outside Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel has delayed winter supplies into Gaza, Al Jazeera reported. The United Nations said Wednesday that more than 150,000 tents were waiting outside the territory for Israeli permission to enter.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said waiting for a new Israeli government to form was “not an acceptable excuse” for the delays, according to the same report.

The visit came as flooding hit displacement camps in Gaza, a storm Clash Report said had flooded tens of thousands of tents earlier in the week. A ceasefire reached last year has not produced the agreed minimum of 600 aid trucks a day, The Guardian reported.