Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt makes every effort possible, in coordination with partners, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip before the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Shoukry made the remarks during his participation Friday 01/03/2024 in a session devoted to tackling the situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) hosted by Turkey, said Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid.
The Palestinian and Turkish foreign ministers were present at the session.
In his speech, the top Egyptian diplomat stated the worsening situation in Gaza requires the international community to live up to its responsibility for ending the suffering of civilians, through implementing UN Security Council Resolution No. 2720, which calls for establishing a UN mechanism to monitor and accelerate the process of delivering humanitarian aid to the enclave.
Shoukry underlined that Egypt has kept Rafah border crossing open since October 8, 2023.
However,
the continued efforts by Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza are hampered by the Israeli side.
The spokesman noted the foreign minister highlighted the challenges facing the UNRWA after some donor states suspended their financial contribution, which affects the UN agency’s work and aggravates the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.
Shoukry warned of the extremely negative consequences of any Israeli ground offensive in the Palestinian city of Rafah, as it will further exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the enclave.
The Foreign Minister reiterated Egypt’s concerns about the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank as a result of the increasing Israeli military incursions.
Meanwhile, the spokesman said the foreign minister held a number of meetings with some ministers and other senior officials as well as experts and media outlets on issues related to the Gaza crisis, the Red Sea security and the Sudanese crisis.
The spokesman said the top Egyptian diplomat had an
interview with the Turkish Anadolu news agency, as he spoke about Egypt’s vision on the current challenges, as well as the progress in Egyptian-Turkish relations following a recent visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Egypt.
Source: State Information Service Egypt