Egypt’s defense minister discusses Gaza cease-fire efforts with US envoy

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

CAIRO (AA) – Egyptian Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki held talks in Cairo on Thursday with US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk to discuss efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

The discussions also dwelt on efforts to open Gaza crossings and increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, the army said in a statement.

The meeting addressed “current regional developments” amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Palestinian enclave and “their severe humanitarian consequences,” the statement said.

Since 2006, Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, forcing nearly two million of its 2.3 million residents into catastrophic conditions with severe shortages of food, water, and medicine.

Last week, US President Joe Biden said Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said Monday that he was “not ready to stop" the war on Gaza, calling Biden's remarks about the cease-fire proposal “inaccurate.”

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have so far failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,650 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 83,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio