Egypt intervenes as Gaza warns Israel over medical aid
Egyptian intelligence has contacted Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza to prevent a military confrontation with Israel over the growing coronavirus threat.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Egyptian intelligence officials are mediating between Israel and Gaza Strip factions to prevent a possible military confrontation over the need for medical supplies to battle the coronavirus, an Egyptian parliament member told Al-Monitor recently.
The parliamentarian, who is close to Egyptian intelligence, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Egyptian calls to the leaderships of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to contain the situation came after Egyptian intelligence received calls from Israeli officials to stop the two movements from carrying out military actions against Israel to pressure it into allowing the entry of anti-coronavirus medical tools.”
The source added that the Egyptian intelligence command asked Israel to allow the entry of necessary medical provisions into the Gaza Strip without restrictions, and "Israel has responded positively to this request.”
Gaza Strip Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said in a news briefing April 8, “Testing at our central laboratory has stopped after coronavirus test kits completely ran out.” He added that dozens of samples are still waiting to be tested. The ministry so far has recorded 13 coronavirus cases, he said; eight of the patients had recovered while the remaining five were still under treatment.
