Palestinian premier, Egyptian president discuss efforts to reach cease-fire in Gaza

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday discussed with visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa exerted efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian prime minister met with Egypt's president in Cairo on his first visit to the country since taking office last month, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Presidency.

During the meeting, al-Sisi reaffirmed his country's strong support for the Palestinian cause until Palestinian rights are restored, which would entail establishing a Palestinian state based on territories it governed in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The meeting focused on the latest developments and ongoing efforts for a cease-fire in Gaza, as well as the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged exclave.

The newly appointed premier also met separately with his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly to discuss the latest developments in Israel's war on Gaza, according to Egyptian media.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack early last October by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 76,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar