Gaza Reconstruction
The Egyptian foreign minister met in Cairo with UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Abdallah Al Dardari and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Ramiz Alakbarov.
The two countries issued a joint statement on Thursday after talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers in Ankara, where they reaffirmed their strong support for the Palestinian people.
The convoy includes engineering equipment such as bulldozers and cranes, along with caravans to provide temporary housing for those affected.
Senior Hamas official Husam Badran affirmed the movement’s serious commitment to the Gaza ceasefire agreement, highlighting a broad consensus among Palestinian factions on a shared vision to implement the deal.
Sisi emphasized that Egypt’s balanced approach over the past decade has proven successful as he met on Wednesday with European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas.
He affirmed that such hosting emphasizes solidarity, responsibility, and love toward the Palestinian people.
The discussions covered all aspects related to the conference’s objectives and expected outcomes—particularly regarding funding and financial pledges—as well as updating the assessment of the scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip.
The meeting was jointly chaired by representatives from Egypt, the United Kingdom and Palestine, and brought together experts in finance, investment and the private sector, as well as officials from relevant ministries and technical bodies, according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
Macron is set to visit the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, which last week hosted indirect talks between Hamas and Israel that led to the plan’s approval. The negotiations were mediated by Egypt, the United States, Qatar, and Turkey.
After Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement to conclude two years of war, Merz expressed appreciation to US President Donald Trump and to the mediating parties: Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as to the Israeli government.
Abdelatty highlighted the developments in the Gaza Strip and efforts aimed at resuming a sustainable ceasefire and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian and relief aid.
“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved, and turn it into just a freedom zone,” Trump said on Thursday, as reported by AFP.
On Friday, Hamas approved the release of American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other dual nationals if Israel initiates the next phase of ceasefire talks, which aim for a permanent end to the war.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, minister of state at the Emirati foreign ministry, and the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee all met in Doha with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump, during a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin from the Oval Office on Wednesday, said “nobody is expelling any Palestinians.”
“It is a serious plan for discussions on the future of Gaza and we will be discussing these ideas with our Arab partners,” Kallas said at the annual UN Security Council session on EU-UN cooperation on Tuesday.
The president emphasized that Egypt has always chosen peace, underscoring the nation’s positive role in settling conflicts with a focus on achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid, and securing the release of captives.
Abdelatty stressed the need to continue joint efforts to implement all stages of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza from all its parties and allow Israel to access humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, paving the way for the start of recovery, reconstruction and ending the war.
Hamas commended Egypt's efforts in preparing for an international conference for Gaza reconstruction.
Sisi and Costa expressed their absolute opposition to any attempts to displace Palestinians or liquidate the Palestinian cause.
