Madbouly added that the war resulted in over 55,000 Palestinian civilian martyrs, two-thirds of whom are women and children, and nearly 125,000 injured.
According to a cabinet statement on Sunday, Madbouly began by noting that the BRICS summit is being held at a critical moment as the world faces complex and overlapping challenges, including geopolitical tensions, threats to peace and security, unprecedented economic setbacks, increasing trade protectionism, rising cumulative debt, and climate change.
He, however, stressed that the most urgent crisis remains the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which he described as a “tragedy” resulting from Israel’s continued violations of international and humanitarian law. He added that Israel continues to commit “violations against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and forges ahead with settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Madbouly’s comments coincide with increasing diplomatic momentum to resolve the crisis in Gaza. On Sunday, Israel said it was preparing to send a delegation to Qatar for indirect negotiations with Hamas, after the group announced two days earlier that it was ready to begin talks “immediately and seriously,” following consultation with other Palestinian factions.
The Doha talks would precede a meeting on Monday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss a potential deal for Gaza.
On Friday evening, President Trump expressed optimism, following what he described as a positive response from Hamas to the proposed truce. He was quoted as saying that there “could be a Gaza deal next week.”
Call for a ceasefire, urging reconstruction
According to the statement, in this context, Madbouly confirmed that Egypt, alongside Qatar and the United States, had made every effort to reach a ceasefire agreement on 15 January. He stressed, however, that “the Israeli aggression against civilians constituted a violation of that agreement.”
The Prime Minister stated: “A ceasefire must be reinstated... [Israel] must comply with international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians.”
Similarly, Madbouly reaffirmed Egypt’s uncompromising stance of categorically rejecting any plans to displace or transfer the Palestinian residents of Gaza from their homeland. He also stressed that such proposals threaten the two-state solution and regional peace, read the statement.
Moreover, the Prime Minister urged support for the Arab-Islamic plan for early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza. He emphasised that reconstruction must occur with Palestinians remaining on their land.
Therefore, the statement continued, Madbouly called on BRICS countries “to support this plan to end the humanitarian suffering of the people of Gaza and to participate in the international conference for early recovery and reconstruction, which Egypt will organise once a permanent ceasefire is reached.”
The Prime Minister also warned that Israel’s blatant aggression on Lebanon and Syria extended to include Iran. He added that these attacks have led to dangerous regional escalation and constitute a violation of international law and the UN Charter. They also directly threaten global peace and security, Madbouly added, according to the statement.
The Prime Minister reiterated Egypt’s stance that crises must be resolved through diplomatic means.
Development, debt, and cooperation
The statement noted that Madbouly outlined Egypt’s key priorities for cooperation with BRICS in supporting developing nations.
“Providing concessional financing and transferring technology to developing countries is a fundamental requirement for achieving sustainable development and eliminating poverty,” he averred.
Furthermore, according to the statement, the Prime Minister emphasised that BRICS should enhance its international debt mechanism and support global financial system reforms that reflect the priorities of developing countries.
Madbouly added that any reforms should ensure that financial models meet the specific needs of developing nations and called for stronger global economic governance and broader participation in decision-making.
He urged accelerating cooperation in energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence, read the statement.
Moreover, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of strengthening economic, financial, and monetary cooperation, especially among central banks. He called for advancing local currency settlements under the BRICS cross-border payments initiative and increasing New Development Bank financing in local currencies.
In conclusion, according to the statement, Madbouly said that BRICS’s genuine impact lies in “our ability to shape shared interests across sectors and meet the aspirations of the bloc’s peoples for a prosperous future.”
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