Egypt said it is mediating between the United Nations bodies operating in Syria and the Syrian authorities to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Aleppo.

The Egyptian mission in the capital Damascus was given the green light by the Syrian government to intervene. The Egyptian charge d'affaires in Damascus will travel to Aleppo to oversee the evacuation of the injured and elderly, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Egypt is also continuing with mediation efforts to allow the entry of humanitarian assistance to stricken areas in Aleppo," the statement added. Aleppo is one of Syria's hardest-hit regions by intensifying violence in recent months.

Syria's five-year war has killed more than 300,000 and displaced over half the population. The denial of access to food, water and medicines has been used repeatedly as a weapon by all sides in the war.

The ministry said the push is part of Egypt's comprehensive plan to deal with the Syrian crisis which includes "emergency moves to ease the humanitarian struggle of Syrians, attempts to reach a ceasefire across Syria and the resumption of political negotiations to reach a political solution."

Last Saturday, Egypt backed a Russian resolution in the UN Security Council on Syria that made no mention of an end to air strikes on Aleppo, as well as a rival French resolution that did call for an end to strikes on the city. Both resolutions failed to pass.

Earlier this week, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that Egypt's vote for the Russian resolution has had no effect on Cairo's relations with Riyadh, which was reportedly angered by Cairo's action.