F1 champion Lewis Hamilton calls on Israel to open Gaza’s Rafah border

Lewis Hamilton visits Rafah crossing to witness Gaza aid efforts

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has called on Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza from Egypt, amid worsening conditions after heavy rains and flooded makeshift camps.

The remarks came on Wednesday, a day after the British F1 driver visited Egypt’s northern city of el-Arish, which borders Gaza, touring a storage facility where the Egyptian Red Crescent had prepared boxes of aid to be sent to Palestinians in the besieged enclave.

In a post on social media, Hamilton said, “People in Gaza and Palestine are in such urgent need that they could hardly need this aid more than they do right now.”

“That’s why we really need to put pressure on Israel and work together to make sure this aid reaches them,” he said.

Hamilton said there were warehouses storing essential supplies in several locations, but the supplies were not reaching Palestinians who need them because of the border closure.

A post on Hamilton’s Instagram page showed him meeting some of the volunteers and workers for the Egyptian Red Crescent, as well as stationary trucks loaded with food waiting to cross the border.

“The past three years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza is appalling. It’s an injustice for people to being denied their freedom, their safety and their dignity. No human being should be treated as though their life matters less,” Hamilton said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected accusations that Israel has been delaying the entry of winter supplies into the Gaza Strip.

More than 150,000 tents bought by humanitarian partners and member states are waiting outside the Gaza Strip for Israeli permission to enter, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said on Wednesday that waiting for a new Israeli government to form is “not an acceptable excuse” for delays in getting essential winter supplies into Gaza.