On Thursday, Egypt began to pave and repair the road at the Rafah crossing, which connects the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip. This road had been damaged by Israeli airstrikes in anticipation of the planned opening of the crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
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"Egypt has already started paving and repairing the roads leading to the Rafah crossing and within the crossing itself," said the source, who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The repair work could be completed by the end of the day, making the crossing ready for aid to start flowing from tomorrow, though they didn't confirm whether it would open.
Hundreds of trucks with humanitarian aid have been waiting at the crossing for days, anticipating the opening, which could occur tomorrow following an announcement by U.S. President Joe Biden.
He stated that an agreement had been reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdelfatah al-Sisi, for aid to be delivered through the crossing.
Regarding the U.S. leader's announcement that only 20 trucks would initially be allowed through, the Egyptian security source indicated that the amount of aid to be delivered has not yet been determined. It will depend on the speed of truck entries and the availability of storage facilities for this aid in the Gaza Strip.
The Egyptian government has reiterated that the crossing is open on the Egyptian side but closed on the Palestinian side due to lack of Israeli permission and the road's destruction resulting from at least four Israeli airstrikes launched since October 7.
In fact, the Rafah crossing was attacked by Israel on the Palestinian side while Egyptian workers were repairing it, resulting in four injured Egyptian workers, as revealed by the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shukri.