UN chief arrives in Egypt, visits Palestinian patients

CAIRO

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived on Saturday in the Egyptian city of El-Arish adjacent to the Gaza Strip where he visited Palestinian patients in the city's hospital.

“Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has just arrived in North Sinai, Egypt,” the UN spokesperson said on X.

“This is his first stop during his annual Ramadan solidarity visit to the region,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Al Qahera channel reported that Guterres arrived at El-Arish airport “on a visit to renew the call for a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Guterres also visited the injured Palestinians at El-Arish Hospital, according to the Egyptian channel.

This was Guterres’ second visit to Egypt since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on Oct. 7.

On Friday, the UN deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, announced the UN chief's annual "solidarity trip" to Egypt and Jordan, marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Haq noted that the UN chief would meet with humanitarian aid workers.

Guterres will have a Ramadan iftar dinner in Cairo with refugees from Sudan and also meet with Egyptian officials, he added.

Haq further mentioned that Guterres will visit the facilities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) during his visit to Jordan.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and around 74,300 others injured besides causing mass destruction, displacement, and shortage of necessities.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi