Egyptian Foreign Minister Bedr Abdelatty said on Thursday that Italy fully supports an Arab plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians.
Abdelatty’s remarks came during a press conference with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in Cairo.
According to a statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry, Tajani confirmed “the support for initiatives for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and its reconstruction.”
Abdelatty said they discussed the regional developments in Palestine, stressing the urgent need to provide the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
He said they also evaluated the developments in the Red Sea region and agreed on “the necessity of reducing escalation in the Red Sea and ensuring freedom of navigation in it.”
“To achieve stability in the ME, we stressed joint efforts to counter irregular migration and safeguard maritime traffic via the Suez and Red Sea,” Tajani said.
On March 4, an emergency Arab summit in Cairo approved Egypt’s $53 billion reconstruction plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinians from their homes.
Israel resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, abandoning a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January. It has killed nearly 51,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in the enclave since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war that has left the territory on the brink of famine.