FM to White House Coordinator: Egypt intensifies efforts to halt Gaza war

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry reiterated during a meeting with the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk on Thursday 6/7/2024 Egypt’s commitment to intensify its efforts to stop the Israeli war on Gaza.

According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement, Shoukry emphasised the urgent need for a qualitative and quantitative change in the volume of humanitarian and relief aid entering the Gaza Strip.

He pointed out the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is exacerbated by Israeli military operations in the Palestinian City of Rafah, and the repeated displacement of citizens to unsafe areas.

Furthermore, Egypt’s FM stressed the necessity for Israel to comply with its obligations as an occupying power and with the decisions of the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and the International Court of Justice.

He also emphasised that Israel should ensure full and unobstructed access to aid, open all land crossings between Israel and Gaza, and provide safe conditions for the work of international relief agencies throughout Gaza.

Both sides discussed the proposed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. They also discussed the exchange of prisoners and detainees and the mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar, and the US.

In this regard, they stressed the importance of Israel and Hamas reaching an agreement as soon as possible and taking serious and genuine steps to ensure a ceasefire throughout the Gaza Strip.

For his part, the US official expressed keenness to continue joint efforts to end the crisis in Gaza, praising the high-level coordination between Egypt and the US in this regard.

He further lauded Egypt’s vital role across all humanitarian, political, and security aspects to mitigate the crisis and contain its repercussions.