F1 star Lewis Hamilton visits Egypt’s Rafah crossing to meet Gaza aid workers

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton (centre) accompanied by North Sinai Governor Khaled Megawer (centre right) visits the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip November 10, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2026 10:42 AM MYT

Last Modified: Wednesday, 11 Nov 2026 10:43 AM MYT

CAIRO, Nov 11 — Formula One star Lewis Hamilton visited Egypt’s Rafah border crossing yesterday and met aid workers delivering assistance to the war-battered Gaza Strip, according to an Egyptian government statement.

North Sinai governor “Khaled Megawer took Lewis Hamilton on a visit to the Rafah land crossing to learn about the Egyptian efforts to support the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip”, the statement read.

Video shared by Megawer’s office showed the seven-time world champion greeting aid workers and learning about their efforts to get supplies into Gaza, where this week heavy rains swept away tens of thousands of tents.

According to a truce struck by Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas last year, at least 600 trucks of aid per day should enter Gaza, where more than two million people are facing a severe humanitarian crisis.

Aid workers say only a fraction of that amount is being allowed through by Israeli authorities, who control all entry into the territory.

This week, the Board of Peace — a US-backed body tasked with implementing the truce — said Israel must “act immediately” to allow lifesaving winter aid into the Strip.

Virtually the entire population has been displaced, with many sheltering in sprawling tent cities after most of Gaza’s buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Israel’s military offensive, sparked by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, devastated the territory before the current ceasefire was announced in October 2025.

But the truce has never fully halted the bloodshed, and Gaza’s civil defence agency reported seven people killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire yesterday.

The Israeli army said it had “struck military operatives in several areas”, without providing further details. — AFP