Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met on Wednesday with Ambassador David Satterfield, the US Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in the Middle East.
Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the meeting focused on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the severe suffering of the Palestinians, and the damage to the infrastructure, services, and hospitals in the area.
The US envoy updated Minister Shoukry on the US efforts to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, and the two sides exchanged views on how to ensure the sustainability of the aid delivery in cooperation with UN agencies.
Minister Shoukry expressed his concern over the decision of several countries to suspend their funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides vital services to the Palestinians, amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He urged the US and other donor countries to reconsider their decision, as it would worsen the human plight in Gaza, and to wait for the outcome of the internal investigation of the agency and the relevant UN bodies.
The foreign minister also stressed the importance of the role of major and influential international actors, such as the US, in supporting the full implementation of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, especially resolution 2720 which outlines the role of the UN mechanism in facilitating, monitoring, and coordinating the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.
Shoukry further emphasized the need for Israel to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to ensure the immediate provision of the urgent needs of the people of Gaza.
For his part, the US envoy commended the significant role played by Egypt since the onset of the crisis in providing and delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and the ongoing bilateral coordination on this matter.
He affirmed the US interest in continuing the consultation and cooperation with Egypt to achieve the objective of delivering aid to the needs of the people of Gaza.
