Egyptians Protest at Rafah Crossing Amid Aid Urgency for Gaza

A large crowd of Egyptian protesters gathered amid simmering tensions Friday at their country's side of the Rafah Crossing to push for fast aid delivery to Gaza.

A vocal protester at one point erupted at a CNN reporter over the network's coverage of the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

The clash occurred as demonstrators grew increasingly frantic as the other side of the Rafah Crossing remained closed despite a reported agreement with Israel to open the Egypt-Gaza border to allow aid to reach trapped Palestinians. 

Videos circulating online showed dozens of protesters banging on the Rafah Crossing border gates, chanting in support of Palestinians, and demanding that aid reach Gazans.

One of the protesters, podcaster Rahma Zein, suddenly confronted CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, who was on the scene, in a heated exchange about the war, arguing that the network is biased toward Israel in its coverage.

“We ask you to condemn! Where is your condemnation? Where is your channel [with] covering this? Cover this!” Zein can be seen yelling at Ward in the video that appears to be shot from a cell phone. 

It was unclear how the CNN correspondent responded to Zein because she turned her back. 

“We understand that you’re an employee. You’re just a puppet,” Zein told Ward. “Come talk to me like a human being.” 

Ward then approached the angry protester. "I heard you. Now you hear me," Zein told Ward.

“I understand you speak for your government. I understand you represent your government. But that being said, your country claims free speech. Your customized democracy is actually what led to Hamas. And now we’re watching…the result of your silence, of your misrepresentation of Arabs," Zein said.

Ward told The Messenger in an email that Zein is part of an interview airing Friday night, who will describe the "anger from many who feel their voices are not being heard."

A CNN spokesperson told The Messenger: "Interviewing voices such as the protester in Cairo is why our CNN team is on the ground reporting from there. We continue to cover this conflict and those impacted by it, including dozens of voices from the Palestinian perspective, as well as from Israel. We are determined to give our audiences as full an understanding of this story as possible.”

What is Happening at the Egypt-Gaza Border?

Over the past week Egypt, the US, and Israel assured that aid would be allowed to flow into the Gaza Strip where over 2 million people live.

Now, some 145 trucks carrying aid that includes food supplies, medicines, and blankets are still stuck at the border, even after President Joe Biden said that 20 trucks would be allowed to reach Gaza earlier this week.

Aid workers and volunteers from a number of charitable and nonprofit organizations held protest sit-ins against the hold up.

Pictures and footage posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, by rights organization Sinai for Human Rights, showed protesters’ tents lined up at the border.

Another video posted Wednesday showed a number of people wearing black T-shirts standing at the border announcing a sit-in in a bid to push for the delivery of aid to Gaza.

Why Do Civilians in Gaza Need Aid Right Away?

Hospitals have been overflowing with dead bodies and injured civilians, and are running out of urgent medical supplies.

Over 4,000 Palestinian civilians have died and more than 12,000 others have been injured in airstrikes that Israel launched in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas attacks Oct. 7, that killed 1,400 Israelis and injured 2,700 others.

Meanwhile, Marwan el-Gelany, the general manager of the Palestinian Red Crescent said Friday in a video, posted by Egyptian book author Mirna El Helbawi, that his organization has been coordinating with the Egyptian Red Crescent to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip.

“We were hoping that aid could be delivered [Friday] without restrictions and without any limits until the tragic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is handled,” he said. “Gaza Strip doesn’t have water or food or fuel — which is essential to keep hospitals running.”

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said Friday outside the Rafah border crossing in Egypt that Gazans are “suffering tremendously" and blamed unnamed “restrictions” that are keeping the border closed. 

The Gaza Strip has been under heavy Israeli bombardments, targeting Hamas fighters, that leveled multiple residential buildings to the ground and one of the city's oldest church.