Cairo, Jan 14 (UNI) Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, have agreed to keep coordinating their countries’ efforts to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
“Egypt and China agreed to maintain contacts and coordination to find a just and comprehensive permanent solution to the Palestinian issue,” the ministry said in a statement.
The arrangement was achieved during a visit of the Chinese delegation led by Wang to Cairo earlier in the day, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated, adding that the parties had exchanged views on the Hams-Israeli conflict at a meeting in Tahrir Palace.
Both Cairo and Beijing expressed deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and urged the international community to take responsibility for creating political prospects for peace in relations between Israel and Palestine, the statement read.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 23,800 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.
