Egypt urges int’l community to avoid double standards after Israeli deadly strike on Gaza ‘safe zone’

CAIRO – 11 September 2024: Egypt has urged all relevant international actors to refrain from employing “double standards” in response to the war in Gaza after a fresh Israeli strike on the Al-Mawasi camp, recognized as a humanitarian safe zone by Israel, killed dozens on Tuesday.

“Egypt expresses its profound condemnation of the continuing Israeli massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the absence of any effective international action to put an end to this humanitarian suffering,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Egypt also cautioned that Israel's continued actions, showing disregard for the lives of innocent civilians, pose a significant threat to regional and international peace and security.

The ministry called on the international community to fulfill their humanitarian and ethical responsibilities to promptly end this humanitarian tragedy.

The ministry underscored that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become a significant challenge to the credibility of all humanitarian standards and values, constituting a violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and human rights.

Overall, Egypt advocated for a just and enduring resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the two-state solution, which entails establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Egypt emphasized that achieving peace and stability in the region requires reaching such a settlement, going beyond merely securing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The ministry called for intensified efforts to instill hope in the Palestinian people regarding deciding their destiny and restoring their freedom.

Media reports quoted Gaza's civil defense on Tuesday as saying at least 40 people were killed and 60 others injured in the recent Israeli attack on the Mawasi camp, located to the west of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army claimed that their strikes were aimed at Hamas fighters operating within the humanitarian area.

Despite being designated as a safe zone in December during the war initiated by Israel on October 7, Israeli forces have repeatedly targeted the Mawasi area in recent months.

The deadliest assault on Mawasi occurred on July 13, resulting in the deaths of at least 90 Palestinians, including women and children, and injuring 300 others who sought refuge in their camps, as reported by the Gaza health ministry.

Since the onset of the war, Israeli forces have killed 41,020 individuals and injured 94,925, as stated by Gaza's health ministry on Tuesday.

The war has also led to the displacement of the majority of Gaza's 2.2 million residents, extensive damage to vital infrastructure, the incapacitation of numerous hospitals, and has pushed the strip to the brink of famine.