Egypt’s dilemma as war rages between Israel and Gaza

The world’s attention has turned to a corner of the Sinai region of Egypt.

The location is the Rafah Crossing, where for days lorries laden with aid have queued to enter the Palestinian territory from Egypt. On the other side of the crossing, Palestinians and dual nationals trapped in Gaza wait under Israeli rocket fire in the hope of being able to leave.

But Egypt finds itself in an impossible situation – should it offer civilians from Gaza a safe route out of the territory and welcome them as refugees? Or should it keep its border closed and leave 2.3 million people at the mercy of Israel’s retaliation for Hamas’s attack on October 7.

In this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Ismaeel Naar talks to The National’s Cairo correspondent, Hamza Hendawi, about the predicament facing Egypt.