Situation in Gaza cannot afford delay of cease-fire: Egypt's Sisi

By Ibrahim Al Khazen

CAIRO (AA) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Wednesday that the situation in the Gaza Strip cannot afford any further delay in reaching a cease-fire agreement.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot afford further delays in reaching decisive solutions for a cease-fire," al-Sisi said during his meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons delegation in Cairo.

The meeting discussed "the regional situation, particularly in the Gaza Strip," according to a statement by the Egyptian Presidency.

Since Sunday, negotiations have been underway in the Egyptian capital Cairo involving Egypt, the US, Qatar, and Hamas, according to the Egyptian state-run Al-Qahera News TV.

A new round of talks for a Gaza cease-fire started in Cairo on Sunday with the participation of delegates from Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Hamas.

According to Israeli media, mediators seek to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas on the details of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as the prisoners to be released from both sides.

Hamas is believed to be holding over 130 Israeli hostages since its Oct. 7 attack.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive, now on its 153rd day, on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others 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. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul