Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. AFP
Writing in the Washington Examiner on Friday, Abdelatty argued that the deal would both guarantee the release of Israeli hostages and secure urgent humanitarian relief for Palestinians.
“This is a critical opening that can shift the trajectory of the conflict, from an endless cycle of violence to a pathway for de-escalation and healing,” he wrote. “At this decisive moment, the responsibility before us is clear.”
He added that working to secure a ceasefire deal must go on in tandem with providing urgent humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
Aid and access
Abdelatty described visiting Rafah and hearing from aid workers and drivers about “thousands of trucks lined up at the border with life-saving supplies” blocked by Israeli restrictions.
He stressed that Egypt has kept its side of the Rafah crossing open, but said Israel’s control on the Palestinian side has strangled the flow of aid.
“As the United Nations (UN) and several of its agencies have confirmed, Gaza is suffering from a man-made famine,” Abdelatty wrote.
He said Egypt has delivered more than 70 percent of the total aid entering Gaza, amounting to approximately 550,000 tonnes of food and medicine, supported by 35,000 volunteers coordinated through the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC).
More than 18,500 injured Palestinians and their companions have been transferred to Egyptian hospitals for treatment, he added.
“Simultaneously, we are working around the clock to host an international conference in Egypt to address early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza once a ceasefire is reached,” he added.
Abdelatty said the three-phased plan, presented by Egypt last March and endorsed by a slew of Arab, Islamic, and Western nations, aims to rebuild Gaza “while ensuring that Palestinians remain in their homeland, casting away any contemplation of displacement.”
“Egypt has pursued a dual track: committing to achieve a ceasefire through mediation efforts, and working toward an uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and reconstruction,” the Egyptian FM reiterated.
“Egypt will continue to work tirelessly with regional and international partners to support these efforts, guided by our unwavering commitment to peace, stability, and justice in the Middle East,” he added. “The path to coexistence requires vision, courage, and a steadfast commitment to ending the cycle of violence.”
Wider peace efforts
The foreign minister said the US president, Donald Trump, had played “a defining role” in brokering ceasefires and mediation efforts elsewhere, including between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
“His efforts to end the war in Ukraine are also pivotal to securing peace in Europe. But importantly, he was instrumental in achieving the initial 19 January ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas,” Abdelatty said.
He argued that achieving peace in the Middle East would be the “crown jewel” of those efforts.
“Today, that same spirit is urgently needed to turn the tragedy in Gaza into an opportunity for reconciliation and recovery,” Abdelatty concluded.
Ongoing war
On 18 August, Hamas accepted the terms of a 60-day ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal presented by Egypt and Qatar, which was previously agreed to by Israel.
The initiative, based on a plan from the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, included guarantees for Gaza’s postwar future and the possibility of a permanent truce.
Despite this, Israel has pressed ahead with military operations in Gaza City with the intention to occupy it and has continued to block the entry of food, water, fuel, medicine, and other life-saving aid.
Since October 2023, mediation efforts, led by Cairo and Doha, have sought to end Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed over 64,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 160,000 others, most of them women and children.
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