JERUSALEM: The secretary-general of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has condemned Israel’s fierce January offensive in Gaza as “awful aggression” which he said breached the rules of war and standards of human rights.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was accompanied by 30 officials from aid organizations and financial organizations in a trip to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip yesterday.
Among the organizations were the Islamic Development Bank and the UK-based Islamic Relief charity, looking at Gaza’s reconstruction needs following war damage estimated at $2.8 billion.
Meanwhile, Egypt has announced to open its Rafah border with the Gaza Strip for two days from Wednesday.
“The Rafah border will be open on Wednesday, for two days, in order to allow the passage of Palestinian students and the sick who are stuck on the Egyptian side,” MENA news agency reported yesterday, quoting an unnamed official.
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is only one that bypasses Israel. It has been largely closed since June 2006, when Palestinian fighters seized an Israeli soldier in a deadly cross-border raid.
Since then, Israel has tightened its blockade on the impoverished enclave where most of the 1.4 million inhabitants survive on foreign aid. Egypt opens the crossing periodically to allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza.
