CAIRO

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held talks in Cairo on Thursday with British Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa Affairs, Tariq Ahmad, to discuss Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and the recognition of a Palestinian state. 

Shoukry underlined the importance of reaching a cease-fire in Gaza to preserve the lives of Palestinian civilians, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The top diplomat called for ensuring a swift implementation of a UN Security Council demanding a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Monday demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

While Hamas welcomed the resolution, Israel vowed to continue its war on the Gaza Strip until destroying the Palestinian group.

Shoukry called for piling pressure on Israel to open all land crossings with Gaza to ensure the delivery of sufficient aid into the besieged enclave.

According to the statement, the Egyptian minister called for adopting a different approach towards the Palestinian issue that includes serious efforts towards the recognition of a Palestinian state and its membership in the United Nations.

Shoukry also renewed Egypt’s rejection of any Israeli ground attack in Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have taken refuge from Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

The two ministers also discussed ongoing tensions in the Red Sea and the situation in Lebanon, Sudan, Libya and Yemen, the statement said.

Israel has launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The offensive has killed more than 32,500 victims and injured nearly 75,000 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of the north, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war, now in its 174th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of 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, which in 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 in Istanbul