CAIRO 

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Sunday his country will not allow the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. 

Sisi held talks with European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of an Egyptian-European summit in Cairo.

"Egypt rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians to its lands and will not allow it,” the Egyptian leader said as cited by a presidential statement.

Sisi also underlined the need for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

The talks between the two sides dwelt on bilateral cooperation between Egypt and the EU as well as regional developments, the statement said.

Egypt and the EU are set to level up their relations to a “strategic comprehensive partnership” on Sunday amid reports that the European bloc will provide Cairo with a funding package of 7.4 billion euros ($8.06 billion) from 2024-2027 for stabilizing its economy.

Egypt has been under economic pressure due to the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which impacted the country’s revenues from tourism and shipping through the Suez Canal.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala