Egypt, UK Agree to Increase Aid Flow into Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Cairo on Thursday (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Cairo on Thursday (Egyptian Presidency)
TT

Egypt, UK Agree to Increase Aid Flow into Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Cairo on Thursday (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Cairo on Thursday (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron agreed on Thursday on the necessity of reaching a sustainable ceasefire, and the provision of sufficient relief aid to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of the Gaza Strip in order to end the humanitarian calamity in the enclave.
During talks held in Cairo, the two men emphasized their rejection of the displacement of Palestinians, and the importance of working to prevent the expansion of the conflict to other areas in the region.
Egypt continued its efforts to renew a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It has also expressed its rejection of any attempts by Israel to displace the people of Gaza into its territories.
In Cairo, Sisi received Cameron in the presence of Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Affairs at the UK Foreign Office Lord Tariq Ahmad and UK Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley.
The meeting touched on the regional developments and the current situation in the Gaza Strip.
Sisi underscored the need for the international community to fulfill its responsibilities in implementing the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly regarding the situation in Gaza, in addition to working seriously and determinedly to reach a fair and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue through the implementation of the two-state solution, according to presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy.
Later, Britain and Egypt's foreign ministers called in a joint press conference for more aid to enter Gaza.
Shoukry underlined the importance of halting aggression in the Gaza Strip, noting that 20,000 Palestinians, including 8,000 children, were killed in the Gaza Strip in addition to destroying 70 percent of their houses.
For his part, Cameron affirmed the necessity of increasing aid flow into Gaza, stating that Britain has offered $75 million in aid.
Meanwhile, a UN report said that more than 90% of the population in the Gaza Strip was facing ‘crisis levels’ of hunger and estimated to face high levels of acute food insecurity.

 

 



Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
TT

Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.