Egypt's FM urges quick action on Gaza amid Israeli starvation policy in meeting with Rubio

CAIRO – 31 July 2025: Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty has emphasized the need to prevent further bloodshed among the Palestinian people in Gaza and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid amid the catastrophic conditions resulting from “a systematic Israeli policy of starvation.”

In a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, Abdelatty urged quick action to address this pressing humanitarian crisis and stressed the necessity of reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

He stressed the need to propose a political framework for achieving a fair and lasting resolution to the Palestinian cause, allowing the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights, especially their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

Abdelatty expressed hope for continued close collaboration with the US administration to lay the foundations for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East that serves the interests of all peoples in the region.

Their meeting comes amid a stalemate in indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the US, to end the war in Gaza that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza, including full blockade in some months, has sent the enclave into a hunger crisis that has killed more than 150 people, most of them children, due to malnutrition and starvation.

Food experts have frequently warned of a looming famine in Gaza as photos of children, skin and bone and dying from hunger, have drawn global outcry.

While Israel this week has initiated what it calls tactical pauses to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery amid the looming famine and under pressure from the West, UN officials warn that these measures fall far short of the urgently-needed ceasefire and unrestricted aid access to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Abdelatty’s visit to Washington also follows President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s call for the US and the international community to do their utmost to end the war in Gaza and ensure aid is delivered to people.

Commenting on the situation in Gaza on Monday, Sisi said he believes that “President Trump is the one capable of ending the war and delivering aid,” urging him to “make every effort” to achieve these goals as “the time has come to end this war.”

Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff was set to travel to Israel these days to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to reports, citing a senior US official.

During a visit to Scotland this week, Trump said Israel “has a lot of responsibility for flow of aid.”

“We can save a lot of people,” Trump said. "I mean, some of those kids are — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that.”

Access the tweet by Deputy US Foreign Policy editor at Reuters from here.

While in Washington, Abdelatty had a phone call with Witkoff on Wednesday, discussing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, ensure unconditional access to aid, and facilitate the release of captives and prisoners.

They discussed the joint efforts of Egypt, the US, and Qatar, as the three guarantor parties in the negotiations, to secure a ceasefire through increased pressure, allowing for an agreement to be reached as soon as possible.

Abdelatty also detailed the humanitarian catastrophe in the strip resulting from blatant Israeli violations and the use of starvation as a weapon against Palestinians.