Hamilton visits Gaza aid operation at Rafah border two days after Sao Paulo

Lewis Hamilton visited the aid operation at Egypt’s border with Gaza on Tuesday, arriving in El Arish in North Sinai just two days after making his 400th Formula 1 start at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion was met at the airport by the region’s governor, Khaled Megawer.

According to the local governorate, Hamilton was shown around the Rafah crossing and the Egyptian Red Crescent’s storage facilities in El Arish, and received a briefing on how supplies are organised before entering the territory. Reuters reported he saw lorries stacked with aid waiting at the crossing — one of the only entry points into Gaza — while Israel’s military, which controls the Gaza side, has at times severely limited or halted deliveries altogether.

There had been no public comment from Hamilton on the trip at the time of writing. It is, however, not his first visit to the region. Last December he travelled to Jordan with the British Red Cross, meeting Red Crescent teams preparing supplies for Gaza and visiting a hospital treating children evacuated from the strip. He also made a donation to the charity’s Gaza appeal.

“I’ve seen how every box and every parcel is prepared with care, with teams working around the clock to deliver aid to those who need it most,” he said following that visit. “But it’s painfully clear this trickle of aid is not nearly enough. The people of Gaza desperately need a sustained, unimpeded flow of lifesaving support, as well as critical medical care.”

Hamilton has continued to speak publicly on the issue throughout the current season. Asked in Austin last month about F1’s plans to race in Rwanda, he was direct about his broader hopes for the region. “I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping that at some stage we get to.”

The humanitarian visit follows a difficult weekend on track at Interlagos, where Hamilton spun in the late rain and finished ninth, leaving him fourth in the drivers’ championship — one point behind former Mercedes team-mate George Russell. He returns to his Ferrari for the Las Vegas Grand Prix before the season concludes with two races in the Middle East.