Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry warned that any Israeli military operation in Rafah would pose a direct threat to Egypt’s national security. He urged avoiding the risks of escalating the conflict and the negative consequences of any Israeli invasion of the Palestinian Rafah.
Shoukry spoke at a session titled “Towards stability and peace in the Middle East: The challenge of de-escalation”, as part of the Munich Security Conference. He said that population displacement, whether internal or external, violated international and humanitarian law.
He repeated the importance of international actors pressuring Israel to stop its military operations and attempts to displace the people of Gaza or end the Palestinian cause. Shoukry stressed the need for international parties to take their legal and humanitarian responsibilities seriously and to intervene to stop Israeli violations.
On Saturday, Shoukry met with Espen Barth Eide, Foreign Minister of Norway, on the sidelines of the conference.
Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the two ministers discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and the steps to implement Security Council resolution 2720 and activate the relevant UN mechanism to facilitate humanitarian aid to the Strip.
Shoukry briefed his Norwegian counterpart on the results of Egypt’s political and diplomatic efforts with key international parties to remove the obstacles created by Israel to block the entry of aid.
He emphasized the importance of full political support from the international community to the UN chief coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs for the success of her tasks assigned by the Security Council resolution to speed up the delivery of aid shipments to Gaza.
The two ministers shared their views and assessments on the seriousness of the current situation in Gaza in light of Israel’s plans to launch a military operation in the southern Gaza City of Rafah, which is the last haven for more than 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza.
Shoukry called for all international actors to pressure Israel to stop these plans, which would cause an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
The two sides also affirmed their countries’ total rejection of all attempts by Israel to force the people of Gaza out of their land and to liquidate the Palestinian cause. The discussions reflected the agreement on the vital role played by UNRWA, which is irreplaceable, in supporting the Palestinians.
The two ministers stressed the importance of continuing to provide sufficient financial support to the agency to carry out its tasks and urged the countries that have stopped their funding to the agency to reverse this decision, which would worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza, given UNRWA’s primary role in distributing aid and dealing with various aspects of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
They also stressed the importance of the international community continuing to provide the necessary support to offer urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of the Strip adequately and sustainably.
Shoukry also met with Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and security policy, on Saturday. The meeting focused on the latest developments in the security and humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Shoukry and Borrell shared their assessments and the outcomes of their contacts with various regional and international parties to find a solution to the escalating situation in the Strip.
The two sides also discussed several initiatives to end the crisis by achieving an immediate ceasefire, exchanging detainees, and improving humanitarian access to Gaza.
