Egypt, Qatar discuss latest developments in Gaza, Lebanon

By Hamdi Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman on Saturday discussed the latest developments in Gaza and Lebanon.

The telephonic talks took place as part of the ongoing coordination between the two countries amid continued Israeli escalation in both regions.

According to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the two officials emphasized the importance of regional and international efforts to maintain the flow of humanitarian and medical aid to Lebanon, which has been facing escalating Israeli attacks.

The ministers also discussed joint efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, secure the release of hostages, and ensure the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The conversation also touched on Egypt's role in promoting Palestinian reconciliation, including recent meetings held in Cairo with representatives from the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas.

The talks come amid intensifying Israeli army offensives in both Gaza and southern Lebanon, which have drawn widespread international concern.

Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,351 people, injuring over 3,800 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.

The aerial campaign is an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of its offensive on the Gaza Strip, in which Israel has killed over 42,100 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Despite international warnings that the Mideast was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, it expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara