A well-informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that the Cairo conference on early recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, which had been scheduled for the end of November, “will not be held on time and will be postponed,” citing the current escalation in the enclave and Cairo’s wish to ensure better conditions on the ground to achieve the conference’s goals.
“The conference will not take place at the end of the month as planned, and I believe it will be delayed slightly, especially since there is a parallel effort underway. It is clear that the United States intends to undertake something of its own on this issue in Rafah,” the source said, referring to what is known as the green zone in areas under Israeli control in the enclave.
He stressed that “Egypt is a major state and capable of carrying out these tasks, however it needs the right timing to secure a positive and tangible outcome for our Palestinian brothers.”
Explaining the reasons behind the delay, the source said “many countries are requesting guarantees that destruction in Gaza will not be repeated. These guarantees have not yet been secured and will not be available at this stage given the ongoing Israeli escalation and repeated violations.”
During the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, which helped secure a ceasefire agreement in Gaza last October, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told several leaders that “it is important to hold the Cairo conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza in November,” according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.
Official Egyptian channels had previously indicated that the conference could be held in November.
According to an earlier statement from the Foreign Ministry, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held a phone call on October 17 with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that discussed preparations and details for the reconstruction conference, particularly funding and financial pledges, in addition to assessing and updating the damage in the enclave.
On November 5, Sisi reaffirmed Egypt’s intention to host an international conference on early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza by the end of the month, according to a presidency statement issued during his meeting with the president of Kyrgyzstan.
Since Sisi’s announcement, most presidential discussions, along with the foreign minister’s contacts, have touched on the reconstruction conference and ongoing preparations with several states including the United Kingdom, Türkiye, France, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Qatar, according to Asharq Al-Awsat’s review of official statements.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also said in his remarks at the Group of Twenty summit on Saturday that “Egypt will host a global conference dedicated to early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza, and I invite your countries to participate in this conference,” without specifying a date.
Egypt had not confirmed a final date for the conference nor whether it would be postponed as of Tuesday afternoon, although the Gaza Strip is experiencing a significant escalation.
Since November 19, the ceasefire in Gaza has suffered a “setback,” the most serious of which occurred on Saturday, when at least 21 people were killed in Israeli strikes, according to the Civil Defense in the enclave, after Israel accused Hamas of “violating the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10.”
The extraordinary Arab summit hosted by Cairo on March 4 approved a “plan for the reconstruction and development of the Gaza Strip,” aimed at early recovery and reconstruction without the displacement of Palestinians, in specified phases over a period of up to five years and at an estimated cost of 53 billion dollars.
Cairo also called for an international conference to support reconstruction efforts in Gaza in coordination with the United Nations.
