Egypt urges EU to provide relief, start recovery projects in Gaza

ANKARA (AA) – Egypt has called on the European Union to provide humanitarian relief assistance and launch early recovery projects in Gaza after a cease-fire agreement that suspended Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Sunday evening in Brussels with President of the European Council António Costa.

Abdelatty underlined the importance of having Israel and Palestinians “abide by the cease-fire agreement according to its specified phases and dates,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He also urged the EU to support the humanitarian effort, provide aid to Gaza, and start early recovery projects in preparation for reconstruction, the statement said.

The ceasefire and prisoner swap deal took effect in Gaza on Sunday, suspending Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave since October 7, 2023.

The 3-phase agreement includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Nearly 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 110,700 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.