Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan called on Tuesday for an end to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stressing the need to avoid expanding the conflict in the region.
Abdel-Ati said during a joint press conference in Cairo on the sidelines of the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting that stopping the aggression on the Gaza Strip is the starting point for achieving stability in the region.
He added that a ceasefire must be reached in Gaza to allow the entry of aid and the release of prisoners.
The Egyptian minister also said that achieving security for the people of the region will not come through expanding the conflict and opening new fronts. He added that his country supports efforts to spare Lebanon from escalation, noting that Egypt and Saudi Arabia reject escalation in the Red Sea.
For his part, the Saudi Foreign Minister said that the delay in reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza so far is evidence of the failure of the international security system.
Bin Farhan added that the two countries are cooperating to increase pressure on the international community to reach a ceasefire, saying that the role of Egypt, Qatar and the United States in the ceasefire talks in Gaza is pivotal and very important.
The Saudi minister also described Israel’s obstruction of aid entry into Gaza as a war crime.
During a separate press conference in Cairo with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty said there must be an immediate ceasefire, the release of prisoners and the delivery of aid to Gaza.
For his part, Borrell called for working to stop the fire in Gaza, improve the humanitarian situation in the Strip, and respect international humanitarian law.
Earlier today, a meeting of Arab foreign ministers was launched in the Egyptian capital to discuss stopping the Israeli war that has been ongoing for 11 months, with the participation of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for the first time in 13 years.
The headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo witnessed the launch of the 162nd session of the League Council at the level of foreign ministers, headed by Yemen, which succeeded Mauritania.
In a speech addressed to the Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Osama Hamdan, a leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), called for immediate action to pressure the occupation and its supporters to stop the war, open the crossings, and provide humanitarian relief to the residents of the Strip.
Hamdan also called on Arab countries to sever their relations with Israel and do everything necessary to protect Jerusalem from Israeli plans to Judaize the city.
