TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The chair of the Palestinian committee managing the Gaza Strip stated on Monday that the panel is awaiting a meeting with the Board of Peace formed by US President Donald Trump next week. The meeting is expected to confirm funding pledges for aid and reconstruction efforts in the region.
"We are working on an appropriate plan for relief and the entry of health and educational supplies into the Gaza Strip," Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), told Egypt’s Al-Qahera news channel after visiting the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, as reported by Anadolu.
"We have held meetings with the European Union, the United Nations, and Arab countries to discuss support for Gaza, and we have received pledges about the funding needed for relief, recovery, and reconstruction," Shaath added.
Shaath stated that the Peace Council is scheduled to meet in Washington on February 19 to confirm the required funding and aid commitments. "We inspected the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to review logistical procedures to facilitate the movement of Palestinians," he added.
Under strict Israeli restrictions, the occupying state reopened the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing on February 2 to allow movement in both directions. Israel unilaterally took control of the crossing in May 2024.
Shaath said Egypt is making "major efforts to deliver large quantities of aid into the Gaza Strip and is implementing a range of logistical measures at the Rafah crossing to facilitate the entry and exit of Palestinians."
Violating the ceasefire agreement in place since October 10, 2025, Israel continues to block the entry of agreed-upon food, medicine, medical supplies, building materials, and prefab houses into Gaza. Israel also carries out daily attacks that have killed 581 Palestinian residents and injured 1,553 others, mostly women and children, according to figures released Monday by the Gaza Health Ministry.
"The Palestinian people are grateful to the Egyptian leadership for its tireless efforts to prevent the displacement of Palestinians," said Shaath, commending Cairo's role in supporting the right of Palestinians to return to Gaza.
The NCAG is a non-political body responsible for managing day-to-day civil affairs. The body consists of 11 Palestinian figures in addition to its head. The committee began operating in mid-January from Cairo and has not yet started operating from within the Gaza Strip.
40 Palestinians Cross Rafah
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) stated separately that it assisted in evacuating 40 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, which operates under strict Israeli restrictions. In a statement, the organization said the group included 20 patients and 20 companions seeking treatment at hospitals outside the region.
The PRCS stated it will continue humanitarian efforts, coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and international partners, "to facilitate patients' access to treatment outside Gaza, despite the challenges and difficult humanitarian conditions." According to an Anadolu reporter, WHO and PRCS vehicles transported the refugees to the crossing.
Estimates in Gaza indicate that about 22,000 injured and sick Palestinians hope to leave the region for treatment abroad, amidst what officials describe as a catastrophic collapse of healthcare after the Israeli genocide. Semi-official figures also indicate that about 80,000 Palestinians have registered to return to Gaza, underscoring residents' rejection of eviction and their demand to return despite extensive destruction.
Although Israeli and Egyptian media previously reported that up to 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross the terminal each day in each direction, the actual number is lower. Since the reopening, only limited groups have crossed. Under Israeli provisions, only Palestinians who left Gaza after the October 2023 attack are allowed to return following intensive security checks.
Those returning, including parents and children, have reported undergoing harsh Israeli military interrogations, emphasizing their attachment to their land and refusal of forced eviction. Before the Israeli attacks in October 2023, hundreds of Palestinians crossed Rafah daily under procedures overseen by the Gaza Interior Ministry and Egyptian authorities, without Israel's involvement.
Israel was supposed to reopen the crossing during the first phase of the ceasefire that began on October 10, 2025, but it refused to do so, a violation of the agreement. The ceasefire halted Israeli attacks that began in October 2023, killing over 72,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 171,000 others, while destroying about 90 percent of Gaza's infrastructure.
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