Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held a phone conversation on Friday to discuss the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and potential future actions to end the violence.
A statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry revealed that the discussion focused on the outcomes of the recent meetings of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza, hosted in Cairo. The ministers explored future steps for the committee in collaboration with international partners.
The two officials also reviewed ongoing Egyptian-Qatari efforts to maintain a ceasefire in Gaza. They emphasized the importance of adhering to the three-phase ceasefire agreement, which began on January 19 but was violated by Israel on March 18.
The Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee expressed “deep concern” over the collapse of the ceasefire during a meeting in Cairo with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Sunday. The Israeli military’s surprise aerial campaign, launched on Tuesday, has killed nearly 900 Palestinians and injured over 2,000, undermining the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
Since October 2023, Israel’s military offensive has claimed the lives of over 50,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 114,000. The violence continues despite international calls for accountability.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes in Gaza. Additionally, Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.