Egyptian FM Stresses to UN Official Urgency for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza
(AWP) - On Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed to a visiting UN official the imperative of achieving an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and implementing calm before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The Minister affirmed to Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) must never be involved in “narrow political alignments” and emphasised the importance of fully resuming funding for the international agency, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
In the statement, the Foreign Ministry spokesman clarified that Shoukry and Kaag extensively discussed the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in all areas of Gaza, including practices such as starvation, the targeting of civilians and humanitarian aid convoys, as well as the Israeli blockade.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Shoukry warned of the humanitarian risks resulting from the systematic attempts to undermine UNRWA’s work, and the suspension of funding for the agency by some donors in the midst of the critical humanitarian crisis.
Shoukry called for reversing this course and stressed that UNRWA’s missions are indispensable in providing vital services to the Palestinians in accordance with its UN mandate.