Egyptian, U.S. FMs call for ceasefire in Gaza

CAIRO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

They made the appeal during a joint press conference following a multilateral meeting between Blinken, who was on a visit to Egypt, and foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar, as well as the UAE minister of state for international cooperation, and the secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Shoukry underlined the importance of reaching an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, releasing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and expanding humanitarian aid to Gaza where the residents are suffering from starvation.

He also warned of the catastrophic living conditions in the enclave, urging Israel to abandon plans to carry out future military operations in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

"The crisis must be dealt with radically to achieve security and stability in the region by ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, activating the two-state solution, and establishing the Palestinian state," said the top Egyptian diplomat.

Blinken, for his part, said that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is "difficult" but "still possible," and that Israel's planned military operation on Rafah would be "a mistake."

Blinken started his sixth trip to the Middle East on Wednesday since the outbreak of the Hamas-Israel conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, yet his missions failed to achieve breakthrough in negotiating a peace deal between the two warring parties.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for an attack on Rafah, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are seeking shelter.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israeli towns, killing about 1,200 Israelis and capturing more than 200 as hostages.

Since then, Israel has been on retaliatory offensives against Hamas in Gaza, killing a total of 31,988 Palestinians and wounded 74,188 others, according to the latest data released by Gaza's Health Ministry on Thursday.