Arabic version: هاميلتون يحث إسرائيل على إعادة فتح معبر رفح

According to Al Jazeera, seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has called on Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza from Egypt. His appeal came as conditions worsened after heavy rains flooded makeshift camps.

Hamilton made the remarks on Wednesday, a day after visiting el-Arish in northern Egypt, which borders Gaza. The British driver toured a storage facility where the Egyptian Red Crescent had prepared boxes of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, and he met volunteers and workers. Images posted on his Instagram page also showed stationary trucks loaded with food waiting to cross the border.

“People in Gaza and Palestine are in such urgent need that they could hardly need this aid more than they do right now,” Hamilton said in a social-media post. He said pressure was needed on Israel and that people should work together to ensure the assistance reaches Palestinians. Hamilton also said warehouses in several locations held essential supplies that were not reaching those who needed them because of the border closure.

Hamilton described the past three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza as “appalling” and called it an “injustice” for people to be denied freedom, safety and dignity. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel had delayed the entry of winter supplies into Gaza. The United Nations said more than 150,000 tents bought by humanitarian partners and member states were waiting outside Gaza for Israeli permission to enter. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said waiting for a new Israeli government to form was “not an acceptable excuse” for delays in essential winter supplies.