The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan have strongly condemned Israel’s ongoing aggression in the Gaza Strip following their talks in Cairo on Wednesday.
“Minister Safadi and I have stressed our complete rejection of Israel’s systematic policies to impose a new reality on the Palestinian people, forcing them to flee and displacing them from their lands and country,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stated during a news conference after the talks.
“This ultimately leads to the liquidation of the Palestinian cause and undermines the principle of land for peace and the very concept of a Palestinian state,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military urged all Palestinians to leave Gaza City and move south, continuing an offensive across the territory that has killed dozens in the past 48 hours. The military has distributed leaflets ordering all residents of Gaza City, the largest city in the besieged area, to evacuate.
Recent fighting in Gaza City’s outskirts has caused thousands of Palestinians to flee, with Hamas militants regrouping in areas initially targeted by Israel.
“Regrettably, we are on the 278th day of Israel’s brutal aggression on Gaza,” said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.
“Israel has committed unprecedented war crimes in modern history, from killing children to United Nations relief workers, and destroying entire communities, targeting schools, hospitals, mosques, and churches. Gaza has become unsafe for all its residents, be they children, men, women, or the elderly,” he added.
The intense Israeli bombardment throughout Gaza might be aimed at increasing pressure on Hamas during ongoing ceasefire negotiations. U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari mediators are currently meeting with Israeli officials in Qatar to push for a deal.
In nine months of bombardments and offensives, Israel has killed more than 38,200 people and wounded over 88,000 in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Nearly the entire population has been displaced, with many displaced multiple times, and hundreds of thousands are now in overcrowded tent camps.
Israel’s actions were triggered by a Hamas cross-border raid on October 7, in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages. Around 120 hostages remain in captivity, with about a third believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.
