Egyptian president, EU leader discuss development in Gaza

CAIRO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi held a phone conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

During the phone call, Sisi urged the international community to act vigorously to protect the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and stop the Israeli policies of collective punishment.

He said that Egypt's unyielding and relentless efforts to coordinate international humanitarian relief are not a substitute for the imperative need for an immediate ceasefire.

The president reiterated Egypt's unequivocal rejection of liquidating the Palestinian issue without a just solution by displacing the Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

He stressed the need to work toward achieving a state of calm so as to allow for the opening of a political track conducive to the two-state solution, which constitutes the only path toward just and lasting peace in the region.

For her part, von der Leyen expressed appreciation for Egypt's leading role in providing support to the people of Gaza under the difficult circumstances, and for facilitating the departure of a number of foreign nationals from the war-torn Strip.

The two leaders also reviewed efforts underway to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, given the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the blockaded enclave.

The deadly Israel-Hamas conflict has led to the deaths of over 9,770 Palestinians in Gaza and more than 1,400 in Israel.