Israel has to fulfill duties as occupational force in Gaza: Egyptian FM

CAIRO – 12 November 2024: UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag held a visit to Egypt meeting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Badr Abdel Aty Tuesday to discuss endeavors to alleviate the suffering of civilian Palestinians in Gaza Strip.

The top points stressed by the minister are the sustainable supply of humanitarian aid, and pressuring Israel to fulfill its duties as the occupational force in the enclave. In that context, he condemned the recent Israeli decision to ban the activities of UNRWA on its territories, describing the move as a perilous escalation targeted at the liquidation of the Palestinian Cause.

The Egyptian minister stressed the importance of intensifying humanitarian response in the coming period in tandem with the beginning of winter, especially that famine and epidemics became widespread in the enclave due to Israeli practices. Those include the partial closure of all its crossings in the face of humanitarian aid, including that of Rafah with Egypt as it had seized its Palestinian side.

Minister Abdel Aty underscored Egypt's rejection to the displacement of Palestinians from their territories, calling for the unification of Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the two-state solution.