Egypt, France, Jordan FMs call for an end to humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Ahram Online , Saturday 30 Mar 2024

The foreign ministers of Egypt, France, and Jordan met in Cairo on Saturday to discuss joint tracks to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Sameh Shoukry
Jordan s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egypt s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and France s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Sejourne during their meeting at the Egyptian foreign ministry s Tahrir Palace headquarters in central Cairo on March 30, 2024. AFP

 

Sameh Shoukry of Egypt, Stéphane Séjourné of France, and Ayman Safadi of Jordan underlined in their meeting the necessity of ending the humanitarian crisis faced by people in Gaza.

The ministers will hold a press conference on the Gaza crisis later today.

Séjourné said on Twitter that he would discuss with Shoukry and Safadi the Middle East crisis, the release of captives, and coordination on their countries’ humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

The meeting comes as the six-month-long Israeli war is continuing despite the United Nations Security Council’s recent adoption of a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan.

France, a permanent member of the Security Council, voted for the resolution and said that the council will have to work on establishing a permanent ceasefire after Ramadan.

France is said to be working on a Security Council draft resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and recognition of a Palestinian state, according to Israeli Channel 12.

France’s proposal condemns Hamas and calls for the release of captives held by the group.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 32,500 Palestinians and, injured over 75,000. It has also destroyed a majority of homes and infrastructure in the strip and left a large portion of the population on the brink of famine.

Egypt, Jordan, and France have all warned against a planned Israeli ground invasion of Rafah city along the Egypt-Gaza border.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has deemed a potential operation in Rafah “disastrous.”

Meanwhile French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any forced evacuation of people from Rafah will constitute “a war crime.”

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