Lewis Hamilton Visits Egypt’s Rafah Crossing and Gaza Aid Facilities

Lewis Hamilton Rafah crossing visit, Digi Mart USA News (Egypt): Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has visited Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip to meet organizations sending humanitarian aid to the territory. He toured the crossing and then visited logistics warehouses operated by the Egyptian Red Crescent, which facilitates the entry of aid into Gaza.

Hamilton has spoken out about conflict and humanitarian crises in the region and has called for peace. He has frequently posted on social media about children killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and called for a ceasefire.

In October, he said, “I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine. I think there’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping we get to at some stage.”

A ceasefire agreement reached last year has halted major combat operations in Gaza, but the amount of aid reaching the territory continues to fall far short of the agreed-upon minimum of 600 trucks a day. Israeli forces have continued to advance, expanding their control from 53% of the territory to at least 60%, according to an independent commission of UN experts that reported last month.

Airstrikes also continue, and Israeli fire along the advancing front has killed at least 196 Palestinians, including 18 women, 32 boys and 11 girls, the commission said.

At the crossing, Hamilton greeted aid workers with “Assalamu alaikum,” a widely used Arabic greeting meaning “peace be upon you.” He shook hands and briefly spoke with workers and officials. Khaled Megawer, governor of North Sinai, where Rafah is located, said the visit was intended to help Hamilton learn about Egypt’s efforts to send aid to Gaza.

The visit follows Hamilton’s 400th race start on Sunday at the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. The first Black F1 driver, he made his debut with McLaren in 2007.

He is only the second F1 driver to start 400 races, after his former teammate Fernando Alonso, who reached the milestone in 2024.