At G7, Egypt’s El-Sisi urges Israel to halt Gaza seizure

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday urged Israel to abandon its plan to take control of 70 percent of Gaza, as he attended the G7 summit in France.

Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to take control of more territory in the battered Gaza Strip, flouting the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.

He said Israeli forces initially controlled about 50 percent of the enclave under the truce before advancing to around 60 percent and then directing a move toward 70 percent.

Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces were meant to pull back behind a so-called “yellow line,” separating areas controlled by Palestinian militant group Hamas from those held by the Israeli army.

“Only 30 percent of the Strip is effectively left for the Palestinian people,” El-Sisi said, at a G7 summit session on Middle East stability in the French resort of Evian.

This approach “must stop immediately,” he added at the session which was also attended by G7 and EU leaders as well as the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

El-Sisi said there was “no alternative to reaching a just and lasting settlement to the Palestinian cause based on the two-state solution” and urged “the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for peace in the Gaza Strip.”

Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas since the group’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel triggered the war in the enclave.

The first phase of the Gaza truce saw the release of the remaining hostages seized in the October 7 attacks, in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.

The transition to the second phase, which was supposed to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has been stalled for months.

Gaza remains gripped by daily violence, with both the Israeli military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.