Sisi, Guterres discuss Egypt-UN cooperation to protect civilians in Gaza, ensure access to aid

CAIRO – 28 October 2023: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed over phone cooperation with regard to protecting civilians in Gaza and ensuring access to aid.

This comes through the mechanism agreed upon by the two sides under the supervision of the UN, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Ahmed Fahmi said in a statement on Saturday.

For his part, Guterres praised the vital role played by Egypt in this regard as well as the Egyptian commitment to positive work toward peace and stability.

For his part, President Sisi extended appreciation for the balanced positions adopted by Guterres as well as the UN’s role at the political and humanitarian levels.

Sisi and Guterres discussed developments of the ongoing diplomatic efforts to halt escalation in Gaza, including the recent UN General Assembly’s resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in the enclave.

Such truce would preserve the lives of civilians and allow the immediate entry of relief aid to the strip in sufficient quantities, they affirmed.

Egypt has called for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian truce in Gaza as more than 7,000 people were killed, thousands more were injured and around 1.4 million were displaced.

Egypt has also worked to deliver the humanitarian aid coming from world countries and local and international organizations through the Rafah border crossing to Gaza.

Since last Saturday, the Gaza Strip has received a total of 84 humanitarian aid trucks, while the UN says at least 100 humanitarian aid trucks are needed in the enclave per day.