Ambassador Ragui El-Etreby, Egypt’s presidential representative to the G20, issued the call during the group’s three-day meeting on global food security in Cairo.
The gathering, which opened on 1 September, is the first G20 session ever held outside a member state since the group’s founding in 1999.
Ambassador El-Etreby described the crisis in Gaza as a “man-made humanitarian tragedy,” condemning what he called Israel’s systematic policy of starvation against 2.4 million Palestinians in the strip.
He noted that the United Nations (UN) had declared famine in the territory earlier in August—the first such declaration in the Middle East.
“The aid is already available and is capable of ending the famine soon,” he stated.
Egyptian officials said some 5,400 trucks loaded with food, water, and medicine are stranded in North Sinai, blocked from entering Gaza as Israel continues to restrict the flow of aid to a population experiencing famine under bombardment.
More than 600,000 Palestinians are at risk of catastrophic hunger, while at least 340 people, including dozens of children, have already died from starvation or acute malnutrition, according to health authorities in the strip.
Since late July, Egypt has dispatched more than two dozen aid convoys, but says Israel has obstructed their delivery with restrictive measures at the Israeli-controlled Karm Abu Salem crossing.
Cairo has also slammed Israel for disregarding a 60-day truce and prisoner-exchange proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, which was previously accepted by Israel and agreed to by Hamas on 18 August.
Glogal food crisis
Ambassador El-Etreby—who also serves as Assistant Foreign Minister for Regional and International Economic Affairs—outlined the wider global food crisis, citing rising prices, protracted conflicts, and climate change.
He urged reform of the multilateral trading system and global financial architecture, while stressing the importance of water management, capacity-building, and technology transfer in building resilient food systems.
Finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk also addressed the meeting, underscoring the disproportionate impact of food insecurity on developing nations, including Egypt, one of the world’s largest food importers.
He called on advanced economies to fulfil their pledges on development assistance, while highlighting Egypt’s own efforts, including food subsidies that consume 20 percent of the state budget, initiatives to support small farmers, and social protection programmes such as Takaful and Karama.
The G20 forum, held under the theme of South Africa’s presidency, brings together more than 2,000 participants from G20 member states, guest countries—including Egypt—and international organizations.
Egypt is attending as a guest for the third consecutive year and fifth time overall, having previously joined under the presidencies of China (2016), Japan (2019), India (2023), and Brazil (2024).
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