Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, during a joint press conference in Alamein. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Ministry of Foreign.
FM Abdelatty made the remarks at a Saturday press conference with Fidan in Cairo, following Fidan's meeting with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi earlier Saturday.
Abdelatty said the talks focused on ending Israel’s systematic starvation and genocide in Gaza, lifting all restrictions on crossings — particularly the five controlled by Israel — and allowing the unrestricted entry of life-saving humanitarian aid into the strip.
“We welcome any support from Turkey or from any country in the world to be delivered into the Gaza Strip to address the humanitarian catastrophe there,” he said.
Egypt's top diplomat added that Cairo was facilitating aid through El Arish Airport and Port, and land corridors, while pressing Israel to open Gaza’s crossings.
Both ministers reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state along the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
They demanded an immediate end to Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, such as land confiscation and settlement building.
Abdelatty warned that such policies aimed to forcibly displace Palestinians and “liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
They also stressed respect for Islamic and Christian holy sites and maintaining Jerusalem’s legal and historical status.
Fidan’s visit came less than 24 hours after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to seize full control of Gaza City and reoccupy the strip — a move condemned on Friday by Egypt, Turkey, and several Arab and European powers.
Egypt’s foreign ministry denounced the decision and stated that it entrenched the “illegal occupation,” prolonged a “war of extermination” in Gaza and sought to erase the Palestinian cause.
Fidan accused Israel of "committing massacres in Gaza, seeking to empty it of Palestinians and fully reoccupy the strip."
He said Turkey would stand with Egypt against any attempt to displace Palestinians, calling such moves “null and void and bound to fail.”
He praised Cairo’s mediation role in ceasefire talks and its efforts in humanitarian aid delivery to the strip.
Wider Middle East and African crises
The two ministers also discussed regional crises.
On Syria, they stressed preserving unity and territorial integrity, pursuing an inclusive political settlement and ending Israel's “illegal and irresponsible practices”, including airstrikes, on Syrian territory.
On Libya, Abdelatty called for unifying state institutions, holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, removing foreign forces and advancing a Libyan-owned peace process.
On Sudan, they urged an immediate ceasefire and “serious and responsible dialogue” towards a political settlement.
Abdelatty also stressed preserving unity in Lebanon, ending Israel’s occupation of five southern sites and implementing United Nations (UN) Resolution 1701.
Talks also touched on Yemen, Red Sea navigation, cooperation for peace and development in Africa, and resolving global crises, including the war in Ukraine.
On the Horn of Africa, Abdelatty described water security as an existential issue for Egypt, called for protecting Somalia’s unity and urged an end to foreign interference.
Both sides will hold a Joint Working Group meeting before year-end to prepare for the second round of the High Strategic Council, expected during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned visit to Egypt next year.
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