Egypt presses for next stage of Gaza cease-fire plan
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud, and Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar, pose for a photo as they meet at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Egypt, June 21, 2026. (Reuters File Photo)


Egypt called Thursday for intensified international efforts to create the conditions needed to complete the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza plan and move forward with its second phase, stressing the importance of sustaining momentum toward a broader resolution.

The call came during a meeting in Cairo between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and European Union envoy for the Middle East Christophe Bigot.

Abdelatty affirmed the importance of "refocusing international efforts on the Palestinian issue to create conditions for the full implementation of the first phase of the plan and moving to its second phase," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"This requires ensuring the sustainable flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and creating the necessary conditions for early recovery and reconstruction,” he added.

The ministry said talks between Abdelatty and Bigot took up the ongoing efforts to enable the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to carry out its duties from inside the enclave.

Abdelatty stressed "the importance of providing the necessary international support to ensure the success of the committee's work and expediting the deployment of the international stabilization force to monitor the cease-fire," the ministry said.

In September 2025, Trump announced a 20-point plan outlining a cease-fire framework that included the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the formation of a technocratic administration, and the deployment of an international stabilization force, along with a call for Hamas to disarm.

The first phase of the agreement included a truce and prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian factions, a permanent ceasefire, as well as a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. Israel, however, has continued to violate the agreement on a near-daily basis.

Under the second phase, Israel is expected to carry out further withdrawals from the territory, while an international stabilization force would assume security responsibilities, including facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials.

Israel's genocidal war in Gaza since October 2023 has killed over 73,000 Palestinians and injured more than 173,000, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian figures.

Abdelatty also renewed Egypt’s condemnation of the continued Israeli settlement expansion, and occupier attacks in the West Bank, and measures aimed at altering the legal and historical status quo in East Jerusalem.

Bigot, for his part, affirmed the EU rejection of continued settlement activity and unilateral measures that undermine the two-state solution, calling for adherence to international law and halting steps that escalate tensions and jeopardize the prospects for peace.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israeli escalation by the army and occupiers in the West Bank has killed 1,173 Palestinians, wounded 12,666, led to the arrest of about 23,000 and displaced 33,000, according to official Palestinian figures.