Egyptian, Saudi foreign ministers discuss Israeli war on Gaza

By Ahmed Asmar

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan on Friday discussed the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and the future moves to stop the war.

A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Abdelatty and bin Farhan had a phone conversation to follow up on the outcomes of the Cairo-hosted meetings of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza.

They also discussed the future moves for the committee with the relevant international parties.

Their phone conversation reviewed the ongoing Egyptian-Qatari efforts to maintain a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the implementation of three phases of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on Jan. 19, but Israel backtracked on March 18.

Following a meeting in Cairo with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Sunday expressed “deep concern” over the breakdown of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army has launched a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza since Tuesday, killing nearly 900 Palestinians, injuring some 2,000 others, and shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

More than 50,250 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 114,000 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.