Egypt’s FM Abdelatty condemns Israel at Gaza conference in Cairo

Egypt‘s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty condemned “the Israeli occupation forces” during an international conference on Gaza held in the capital, Cairo, on Monday, and criticised the world’s “inaction” by Israel’s bloodshed of Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.  

In a strongly-worded speech, the Egyptian top diplomat called for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the Palestinian side of the Rafah Border Crossing, Gaza’s only exit to the outside world via Egypt’s North Sinai province, to allow the entry of humanitarian aid. 

Organised by Egypt and the UN, the international occurrence, entitled “A Year of Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza: Urgent Needs and Sustainable Solutions,” concluded late on Monday. It gathered about 100 ministerial delegations, high-profile civil society representatives from around the world, and UN agencies to mobilise global and regional support to the Palestinians amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“The conference discussions reflected the participants’ firm commitment towards responding to the current humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip in a bid to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people and put an end to their extreme suffering,” the concluding statement said.

Abdelatty told the conference attendees that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has worsened due to what he described as “the inability of the international community and the global legal system to take firm actions to halt the bloodshed of Palestinians and end Israel’s serious violations of international and humanitarian laws.”

“Israel has been using famine and blockade as weapons as well as mass displacements as collective punishment against the Palestinians in a blatant violation of…laws…for 14 months amid the silence of the international community towards such atrocities,” he added.

Earlier in the day, during another speech Abdelatty said that the limited aid supplies Israel allowed to enter Gaza after finally responding to international pressure did not meet the enormous humanitarian needs of Palestinians in Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli bombardments, epidemics, cold weather, and the risk of an imminent famine.

According to him, some of what was delivered to Gaza may have been difficult to reach those in need due to possible acts of theft, vandalism, lack of security measures, and other risks facing humanitarian workers as they did their job.

Over the years, Cairo has played a crucial role in mediating peace deals between the Palestinians and Israelis, as well as among rival Palestinian factions.

Global inaction

Egypt and Israel have technically been at peace since the late 1970s, sharing solid diplomatic, economic, and security ties—despite widespread opposition from the Egyptian public.

But tensions have escalated between the two countries following Israel’s war on Gaza on 7 October last year, killing over 44,000 Palestinians so far, of which about 70 percent are women and children, and injuring thousands more.

Abdelatty, meanwhile, urged the UN to continue supporting the UNRWA’s commissioner-general and reject any proposals to replace the agency’s role.

Last month, Israel banned UNRWA from operating in Israel, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza, a move recently described by Egypt as an “unacceptable disregard for the international community.” 

The Israeli Foreign Ministry informed the UN that it was formally withdrawing from the 1967 agreement that regulates UNRWA’s operations after the Israeli Knesset passed a bill banning the agency and forbidding the government from working with the UN group. 

The move has since then sparked worries of an inevitable humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, as the UN agency has been the primary aid provider to strip in distress. 

The Israeli government had repeatedly accused, without providing evidence, UNRWA of being infiltrated by members of the Palestinian Hamas faction that rules Gaza, an allegation the UN agency denies.

In the concluding statement, the high-profile gathering recommended that an early strategy be set for the future reconstruction of Gaza to be carried out when possible by the Palestinian government with the support of the UN and the international community.

Absent from the event was the US, Israel‘s closest ally, triggered questions about its stance amid mounting calls for Israel’s accountability towards the genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza.