Sir Lewis Hamilton has travelled to the Rafah crossing to see how Egypt is helping deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
The 41-year-old British Formula One champion arrived at Arish International Airport in North Sinai on Tuesday. He met Egyptian officials before heading towards the Gaza border.
Local reports say Hamilton is also visiting facilities operated by the Egyptian Red Crescent in Arish, where volunteers organise and dispatch aid shipments bound for Gaza.
Dressed in a black crew-neck jumper, trousers and sunglasses, Hamilton met North Sinai governor Major General Khaled Megawer.
The pair were photographed talking on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing.
Hamilton’s visit comes only weeks after he publicly called for a ‘free Palestine’.
Speaking amid concerns over the proposed African Grand Prix in Rwanda, the F1 star also urged the continent to unite while conflict continues in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said: ‘I don’t get to choose where we go and naturally there’s problems all over the world today.
Sir Lewis Hamilton, 41, was pictured at the Rafah crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border on Tuesday
The F1 driver visited Red Crescent facilities and met the region’s governor, Major General Khaled Megawer
Hamilton also met Red Crescent volunteers who organise and send humanitarian aid to Gaza
‘I’ve seen many of the stories, but I think we really have to approach it with humility.
‘There’s a lot that we don’t know. Growing up in England, they never ever taught us anything about Africa. It needs to be on the curriculum: a lot of the problems they have there are still results of colonialism and the west intervening.
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‘But if you see the people, you see so many designs that are out there today; top brands come from Africa and it’s got all the richest resources.
‘I really hope, and I still have hopes, that Africa unites. I know there’s many people that don’t want that to happen because they would be so powerful if they did, but I’m still hopeful that at some stage they will.’
Hamilton continued: ‘Of course, going doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there.
‘So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there, what has happened there for hundreds of years and I hope that does spark the conversation.
‘I guess I’ll finish it off with: 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 that at some stage we get to.’
The F1 champion said more people should speak out about the continuing conflict in Congo, as well as the Israel-Hamas war, Sudan’s civil war and the ongoing crisis in Syria.
The F1 champion previously called for a ‘free Palestine’ and visited Jordan, where he toured a hospital and an aid-packing centre supporting people in Gaza
Hamilton was pictured speaking with Major General Megawer at Egypt’s Rafah crossing
Earlier this year, Hamilton travelled to Jordan, which borders Israel and the West Bank, to visit a hospital and an aid-packing facility supporting people in Gaza.
He described the experience as ‘life changing’, saying: ‘When you see what’s happening on the ground, it can be so easy to feel hopeless and like there’s nothing we can do to help.
‘I thought that feeling of hopelessness would’ve been what I took away from my visit, but it wasn’t.’
He has also urged humanitarian groups, including the Red Cross and Red Crescent, to be allowed access into Gaza so they can ‘reach the places where help is needed’.