A girl climbs a hilltop against the backdrop of smoke rising from the Gath shelter, that houses displaced Palestinians, after an Israeli air strike in the west of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. AFP
According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at Cairo International Airport, before accompanying him to the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace for bilateral talks.
The two leaders then held a closed-door meeting, followed by expanded talks attended by the delegations of both countries.
President El-Sisi later hosted a luncheon in honour of the Jordanian monarch and his accompanying delegation.
During the talks, President El-Sisi welcomed King Abdullah to his “second country, Egypt,” affirming the depth and special nature of the fraternal relations between Egypt and Jordan, and stressing the importance of further strengthening ties to serve the interests and aspirations of both peoples.
King Abdullah expressed his pleasure at visiting Egypt, praising the strong bonds of brotherhood and fruitful cooperation between the two countries, and affirmed Jordan’s keenness to continue working closely with Egypt to advance bilateral relations and enhance political consultation on issues of mutual concern.
The discussions addressed developments in the Gaza Strip, with the two leaders stressing the necessity of the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, advancing former US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, and ensuring the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
They also emphasized the urgency of launching early recovery efforts and reconstruction in Gaza.
Both leaders reiterated Egypt’s and Jordan’s firm rejection of any attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.
They also reviewed developments in the West Bank, reaffirming their rejection of all violations and arbitrary practices against the Palestinian people.
In this context, the two leaders stressed that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only path to achieving lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.
The talks also covered regional developments, with both sides emphasising the importance of reducing regional escalation and tensions, strengthening joint action to preserve regional stability, resolving crises through peaceful means, respecting the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of states, and safeguarding the resources of their peoples.
The leaders further emphasised the importance of continued political consultations and intensified coordination between Egypt and Jordan on various issues to support regional peace and stability.
They also reviewed the current state of bilateral relations, expressed satisfaction with their positive development, and stressed the need to further enhance cooperation across all fields, including preparations for the upcoming session of the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee.
Following the conclusion of the official events at Ittihadiya Palace, President El-Sisi accompanied King Abdullah to Cairo International Airport, where he bid farewell to the Jordanian monarch as he departed for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Earlier Sunday, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza began trial operations from the Palestinian side after more than a year and a half of near-total closure. The trial operation would allow Palestinians to move to and from Gaza.
The Crossing's operation is governed by a 2005 agreement involving Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the European Union, under which EU monitors supervise procedures on the Palestinian side.
Egypt has insisted that reopening Rafah must allow movement in both directions and rejected proposals that would limit it to outbound traffic only, which Cairo says would force Palestinians to leave Gaza.
Moreover, earlier on Sunday, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar condemned Israel’s repeated violations of the Gaza ceasefire in a joint statement.
Since the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire in October 2025, Israel has killed or injured more than 1,000 Palestinians, according to the statement.
The ministers noted that the Israeli violations come at a time when regional and international actors are working to advance the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
They warned that the repeated breaches pose a direct threat to the political process and obstruct efforts to create the conditions needed to move Gaza toward a more stable phase, both in security and humanitarian terms.
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