Written by Layla Hassan
CAIRO/AMMAN — Egypt and Jordan have formally proposed a trilateral mechanism for permanent humanitarian aid access through the Rafah crossing, with Egypt and Jordan jointly managing the crossing on the ground while international monitors oversee distribution inside Gaza, according to three regional officials and a document seen by our reporters.
The proposal was submitted to the Trump administration and is under active review, two US officials confirmed. It would replace the current ad hoc convoy system with a permanent, UN-managed mechanism covering food, medicine, fuel, and reconstruction materials. Egypt has demanded written guarantees from Israel that its personnel at Rafah will not be targeted.
Separately, the UN emergency relief chief said the 34-truck convoy that entered northern Gaza on Saturday was “a drop in the ocean” — sufficient for approximately one day of caloric needs for the 120,000 people in Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun. The WHO said its insulin and blood plasma supplies were distributed within six hours of arrival.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in a call with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, called for an immediate ceasefire and said Jordan would not accept a “temporary fix” to the humanitarian crisis. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with the EU’s special envoy for the Middle East in Cairo on Saturday.