Palestinians check the devastation following an Israeli strike that hit Gaza City's southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood. AFP
In a statement, the ministry said this plan aims to entrench the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, continue the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, eliminate all elements of life for the Palestinian people, and liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Cairo further condemned this plan, which also aims to undermine the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and the realisation of their independent state. It described the plan as a blatant and unacceptable violation of international law and international humanitarian law.
"Israel's continued policy of starvation, systematic killing, and genocide against the defenseless Palestinian people will only fuel the conflict, and further escalate tensions," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in the statement.
Egypt further reiterated that Israel's policies will also deepen hatred and spread extremism in the region, which has already been exacerbated by the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza, causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Cairo called on the international community, including the UN Security Council and all relevant parties, to assume their political, legal, and moral responsibilities and to take urgent action to stop Israel's policy of lawlessness and arrogance of power.
The Egyptian foreign ministry emphasised that Israel's lawless and arrogant policies seek to impose a fait accompli by force, undermine the prospects for achieving peace, and eliminate the viability of the two-state solution.
Egypt reaffirmed that neither Israel nor the region will enjoy security or stability except through the realisation of the Palestinian state based on the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Earlier on Friday, Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City, thus expanding military operations there despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad.
The decision also comes following multiple failed attempts to mediate a ceasefire and a rising international outcry over Israel's starvation policies against the Palestinian people, especially women and children.
Israel's announcement has sparked widespread global condemnation. Numerous countries and global organisations warned that such a move violates international law, undermines peace prospects, and exacerbates the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Tuesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi described the war in the Gaza Strip as no longer about captives or political objectives but a war of "starvation, a genocide," and an attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
During a press conference in Cairo, El-Sisi accused the international community of standing by, watching as the lives of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank become political bargaining cards.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has left over 60,000 Palestinians killed, and more than 150,000 others injured, most of them women and children.
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