In a press conference with Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry on Saturday, Fidan affirmed the necessity to prevent the geographical spread of the ongoing conflict.

Fidan also thanked the Egyptian authorities for coordinating the reception of three Turkish planes in El-Arish, loaded with humanitarian aid for Gaza. 

He added that Turkish humanitarian aid planes will continue to arrive in El-Arish.

Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Egypt, in #Cairo.🇹🇷🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/V4sQiB1kWm

— Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) October 14, 2023

Delivering aid to Gaza
 

Fidan said Egypt and Israel are coordinating the delivery of aid from various countries to Gaza, calling for serious negotiations regarding how and when the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai will be opened to allow the flow of aid to Palestinians.

“Bringing aid from sending countries to Egypt is one thing while delivering it to those in need from there is another,” Fidan stressed.

Fidan also said Turkey is coordinating with both Egypt and Israel on the evacuation of Turkish citizens, noting that of 300 Turkish nationals in the strip, 30 have been evacuated.

While Egypt has reiterated that its side of the Rafah crossing remains open and passage through it has been interrupted by repeated Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side of the border.

The Israeli army said the crossing cannot be used for any purpose except through coordination with Israel, a few days after Israel warned it would strike any aid trucks entering Gaza via Rafah, according to Israeli media outlet N12.

Egypt has received aid flights from several countries, including Turkey, the UAE, and Jordan as well as from the World Health Organisation in El-Arish International Airport to be delivered to Gaza.

Protecting Gazans
 

Earlier today, Fidan met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, where they jointly called for the protection of Gaza civilians from policies of collective punishment through siege, starvation, and displacement.

The two also called for greater international efforts to immediately stop the violence in the Gaza Strip and restore calm.

The Egyptian president urged coordinated international efforts to end the worsening humanitarian suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.

Fidan praised Egypt’s role in facilitating the arrival of humanitarian relief from countries and international organizations to Gaza.

Furthermore, El-Sisi and Fidan called for concerned parties to push for a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians via the two-state solution, in a way that protects the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights and achieves regional security.

Full blockade
 

Over the past week, Israel has announced a full blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, severing all supplies including food, water, and electricity, and putting the Palestinian territory at risk of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has also rained air and artillery strikes on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 2,200 Palestinians and wounding thousands more, many of whom are civilians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and displacing hundreds of thousands inside the strip.