Egypt, Iraq leaders discuss Israel war on Gaza

Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, held talks on Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, on Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports.

The discussions were held at the start of an official visit by the Iraqi Premier to Egypt. He arrived in the north-western city of El Alamein early Tuesday.

A statement by Al-Sudani’s office said the talks took up Israel’s devastating war on the Gaza Strip since 7 October, 2023.

Both leaders affirmed the right of the Palestinians to establish their State, with Jerusalem as its capital, the statement read.

“The silence of the international community emboldened Israel to cross all red lines,” the Iraqi Premier said.

According to the statement, the Prime Minister hailed Egyptian mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last 7 October, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,500 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,600 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

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