Egypt says mediators coordinate to consolidate ceasefire in Gaza despite escalation

Cairo.- Egypt affirmed this Sunday that it is coordinating with the other mediators to consolidate the ceasefire in Gaza, amid growing mutual accusations between Israel and Hamas of violating what was agreed and the incessant Israeli bombings that only on Saturday caused the death of 24 people in the Strip. According to statements from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of that department, Badr Abdelaty, conveyed this message to his counterparts in several countries, including France, Canada, and India, on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg.

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“Abdelaty reaffirmed Egypt’s continuous efforts to consolidate the (ceasefire) agreement of (the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, and that it cooperates with the United States and all partners to advance the implementation of the second phase” of the pact, announced last October 10 in that Egyptian resort city, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. He also indicated that Abdelaty held meetings in Johannesburg with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, whose country mediated, along with the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, in the pact for the truce as the first phase of the peace plan for Gaza by US President Donald Trump. The head of Egyptian diplomacy also held a telephone conversation with the Qatari Prime Minister, Mohamed bin Abdelrahman, and both highlighted “the importance of consolidating the ceasefire and preventing any violation that could undermine ongoing efforts”. The Egyptian “reaffirmed the close and continuous coordination between Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the U.S. to ensure the full implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and move forward with the second phase of the plan”. Furthermore, “he emphasized the need to implement the recent UN Security Council resolution and allow the international peacekeeping force to fulfill its mandate to ensure security and stability in the Gaza Strip,” added the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. That diplomatic campaign by Abdelaty coincides with the arrival this Sunday in Cairo of a Hamas delegation, chaired by the Islamist group’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Haya, to discuss with representatives of Egyptian Intelligence and other mediators the situation in Gaza following the escalation of recent days. According to a Hamas source in Cairo, as reported to EFE, the talks of that delegation in the Egyptian capital “will include other Palestinian factions,” without disclosing further details. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire “with false pretexts” on 497 occasions, 27 of them this Saturday alone, when a new wave of Israeli attacks along the Palestinian enclave killed 24 people and caused 87 injuries. For its part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Saturday that it launched these latest attacks after an alleged Hamas fighter crossed the aforementioned line and attacked its soldiers.