Egypt says claims it is preventing the entry of aid into Gaza are Israeli “allegations and lies”:Egypt has “categorically denied” allegations made by Israel during the latter’s defense against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the Egypt prevented humanitarian aid flows into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, State Information Service (SIS) head Diaa Rashwan said in a statement.

ICYMI- The ICJ began hearing South Africa’s case against Israel on Thursday. In the 84-pagefiling (pdf), South Africa accuses the Israeli government and military of “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction”. The case described the Israeli acts as “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.”

El Sisi + Blinken: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his tour of the region in Cairo by meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with on Thursday to discuss the situation in Gaza, according to statements from Ittihadiya and the US Embassy. The two discussed efforts to de-escalate the conflict, ensure the passage of humanitarian aid, and their shared commitment that Palestinans from Gaza are not forcibly displaced.

AND- Israel will not end its war in Gaza unless the 14 km buffer zone along Egypt’sborders is completely sealed, the Jerusalem Post reports Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as having said.

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