Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held separate talks on Sunday with Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Program, and Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister, to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shoukry briefed McCain on Egypt’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, either directly or through facilitating the delivery of aid from other countries and donors. He also highlighted the challenges posed by the Israeli side, which obstructs the access of humanitarian aid to the Strip by repeatedly shelling the Palestinian side of the crossing.
McCain expressed her appreciation for Egypt’s role in ensuring humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians and coordinating with UN agencies working in this field. She also expressed her hope to continue cooperation and coordination with Egypt to implement the World Food Program’s programs and activities in the country, in line with Egypt’s vision of achieving food security and sustainable development.
In a phone call with Fidan, Shoukry discussed the efforts and actions aimed at enforcing an immediate humanitarian truce and ceasefire to protect civilians in Gaza and ensuring the delivery of the necessary humanitarian and relief assistance to the people of the Strip. The two ministers stressed the need to end the tragic situation that the Palestinians are facing as soon as possible, and to provide all aspects of support to alleviate their humanitarian suffering.
The two ministers also exchanged views and assessments on the coordination of international efforts in various forums to stop the attacks on the Palestinians and discussed the security and humanitarian repercussions of the Israeli military attacks and their effects on regional and international peace and security. They stressed the need to prevent the escalation of violence and the spread of the conflict to other areas in the region.
