Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on the sidelines of Geneva meetings of the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament.
The meeting looked at the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, and the ICRC president briefed Shoukry on the organization’s assessments of the conditions endured by Palestinians in the various regions inside Gaza. She spoke of the high number of civilian casualties, including medical and humanitarian personnel, in the Gaza Strip.
Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman at Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the discussions also addressed talks related to reaching a new deal in the region, enforcing de-escalation, and swapping hostages and detainees.
Shoukry stressed the necessity of halting Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians and avoiding escalation and more bloodshed during the month of Ramadan, noting the repercussions of expanding the cycle of violence and the security dangers of exacerbating the situation inside the occupied Palestinian territories and in the region.
Shoukry paid tribute to the important role played by the ICRC within the framework of neutrality and independence to provide support and protection to Palestinian civilians.
He stressed the necessity for international parties to act toward halting Israeli violations against Palestinians, in compliance with the provisions of international humanitarian law and within the framework of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power and in a manner that required the issue of a Security Council resolution enforcing a ceasefire.
He spoke of the full implementation of Security Council Resolution No. 2720 for the provision of humanitarian and relief aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, including northern Gaza.
Spoljaric Egger expressed her appreciation of the pivotal role played by Egypt since the beginning of the crisis in attempting to contain the repercussions of the violence while endeavoring to put an end to it.
She spoke of the existing cooperation between the Egyptian Red Crescent and international relief organizations and agencies to provide and deliver urgent humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip.
She affirmed her support of continued coordination with the Egyptian side to help alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians.
