Organizers of the 26th Miles of Smiles aid campaign said the Egyptian authorities would allow their convoy to cross into the besieged Gaza Strip on Sunday, pointing to unconfirmed Egyptian pledges to open the Rafah border crossing regularly every week.
Head of Miles of Smiles campaign Isam Yousuf told Al-Kitab satellite channel that their convoy may represent a glimmer of hope for the return of Gaza-bound solidarity convoys after a long hiatus.
Yousuf added that the 26th Miles of Smiles convoy came to reemphasize the size of international solidarity with the besieged Gaza population.
For his part, coordinator of the convoy Rashad Al-Baz said there are Egyptian pledges to open the Rafah border crossing on a steady basis during certain days a week in a move to alleviate the suffering of the Gaza population.
Baz noted that three solidarity delegations from Algeria, Libya and Britain would participate in this convoy.
He added that the main goal of this convoy is to maintain the link between the countries of the outer world and the isolated Gaza Strip, pointing to preparations to launch another aid convoy next month from Jordan.
In a related context, the Palestinian ministry of interior said on Saturday that the Egyptian authorities would open the Rafah crossing exceptionally before passengers from Sunday until Tuesday.
Director of the crossings' affairs Maher Abu Sabha told Safa news agency that the Egyptian authorities told the Palestinian side in Gaza of its intention to allow Gazan pilgrims to travel to Makkah in Saudi Arab and enable other stranded passengers to return to Gaza during these days.
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