Governor, thank you very much for hosting me here in El Arish. I am very grateful to President El-Sisi for having invited me to come to Egypt and witness the humanitarian aid operations unfolding here in El Arish and at the Rafah border crossing. Above all, I want to thank the Egyptian authorities – you personally, Governor – for ensuring humanitarian access to and from Gaza via Rafah, and for quickly setting up the El Arish hub to stockpile vital supplies. Egypt is truly providing a lifeline to Gaza. And the European Union is making full use of this lifeline to address the humanitarian needs in Gaza.
Indeed, we are the largest donor to the Palestinian people, and one of the main and most reliable donors to UNRWA. Over the last month, we have quadrupled our humanitarian aid to over EUR 100 million. And in addition, our Member States have provided EUR 260 million. We have organised a Humanitarian Air Bridge operation. It is bringing vital supplies to El Arish for the people of Gaza. We have today completed 15 flights so far. And we are organising more and more flights every day.
None of this would be possible without the excellent and close coordination with the Egyptian authorities, UNWRA and the Egyptian Red Crescent. This is why we have established a coordination cell with the International Federation of the Red Crescent and the Red Cross. And I am happy to be able to hand over to the Egyptian Red Crescent the most recent aid donated by the European Union.
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. 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.
In addition to our humanitarian support, we are reaching out to our partners in the region to prevent violence from spreading. I had a very good meeting on this with President El-Sisi this morning. We discussed in particular how to work together to avoid regional escalation. Egypt is a key partner in this. Its voice is heard across the region and by all actors. Tomorrow, I will be in Jordan to meet King Abdullah. Jordan also has an important stabilising role in the Middle East. And the King is steadfast in his search for a lasting solution to the conflict. My discussions go hand in hand with those of the HR/VP Josep Borrell who is also engaging actively with his counterparts in the region. Because dialogue is so essential to keep the flame of peace alive.
This brings me to my final point. Even as we deal with the urgency of today, we must also think about what the day after could look like, and how Israelis and Palestinians can regain hope and have a perspective. For this, they need a political horizon. And this horizon is the two-state solution. Of course, this requires an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. But the European Union is ready to support this process once the time comes, in very close cooperation with our friends and partners.
