‘People of Gaza must have safe, urgent access to humanitarian aid,’ say Turkish foreign minister, Egyptian president

By Halil Celik

CAIRO, Egypt (AA) – The people of Gaza must have safe and urgent access to humanitarian aid, stressed the Turkish foreign minister and Egyptian president in a meeting on Saturday, said the Egypt Presidency.

Türkiye’s Hakan Fidan and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also stressed the importance of preventing collective punishment for the people of Gaza such as hunger and mass displacement, said the presidency after their meeting in the capital Cairo.

Fidan, on two-day official visit to Cairo at the invitation of his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, met Sisi on Saturday.

He is later expected to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shukri and hold a joint press conference with his counterpart.

During his visit, Fidan also met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who came to Egypt to address the current Mideast crisis.

His visit comes as hostilities between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel enter their second week, with the embattled Gaza Strip bordering northeast Egypt facing Israeli airstrikes, a cutoff of basic utilities, and an order for over 1 million residents to evacuate their homes in the north and go to the south.

Türkiye has so far sent three planes with humanitarian relief to an Egyptian airport in the hopes of sending them to neighboring Gaza.

The Mideast conflict has been a top issue in his talks in Egypt, along with bilateral ties and other regional issues.