Sanaa enters Egypt

Sanaa El-Nahhal, the Palestinian woman who took supplies donated by the Maltese to the war victims in the Gaza strip, has just entered Egypt after a two-day ordeal trapped at the Rafah border.

The border has been closed since Hamas came to power about two years ago, so diplomatic intervention was required to convince the Egyptian authorities that she should be allowed back into Egypt.

Today, thanks to the intervention of the Maltese Ambassador in Egypt Giovanni Miceli, she managed to get the necessary documents to leave.

She began her journey last Sunday, attempting to transport 60 boxes of medicines, food and clothing, donated by the government and the Maltese, to her conflict-ridden homeland. Most of her family live in the Palestinian part of Rafah. She managed to get through the border because she had a resident’s permit.

Due to border complications she was only able to take five boxes into Gaza with her. The rest will remain in a garage in Egypt until her relatives manage to transport them.

The medications were donated to the Red Crescent Society, which will transfer them from Egypt to Gaza, while the other boxes are being kept in one of her family members’ garages in Egypt. She will return to her family in Malta this Sunday.