Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed Saturday that Cairo supports “every effort” to end the Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement
The remarks came during a telephone call Shoukry received from his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, said the statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
The two men discussed “the proposal announced by President Biden regarding a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, the mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in this regard.”
Shoukry affirmed “Egypt’s support for every effort aimed at ending the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip, achieving an immediate and lasting cease-fire, exchanging prisoners and hostages, and ensuring full access to humanitarian aid without obstacles,” it said.
He emphasized the “necessity of opening all land crossings between Israel and Gaza to allow aid to enter and ensuring safe conditions for international relief teams to operate in the strip.”
US President Joe Biden said Friday that Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, with a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.
Biden appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition opposed to the plan.
Netanyahu’s office reiterated Friday his intention to continue Tel Aviv’s offensive in Gaza until all of the country’s war goals are achieved.
Hamas said it would “respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal.”
Since Oct. 7, Israel has pounded Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed less than 1,200 people.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its onslaught nearly eight months ago. Most of those killed have been women and children, with over 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel’s crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war.
