Israel-Gaza war: Egypt peace summit grapples with conflict as risks to region rise
- The hastily-convened summit in Cairo meets as Israel continues to prepare a ground assault on Gaza following the Hamas October 7 attack
- UN chief says Palestinians have endured occupation for 56 years, condemns Hamas, warns its attack does not justify collective punishment
UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded on Saturday for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Hamas militants that has devastated much of Gaza, demanding “action to end this godawful nightmare”.
Addressing a Cairo summit as the conflict raged into its third week, Guterres said the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people was living through “a humanitarian catastrophe” with thousands dead and more than a million displaced.
“We meet in the heart of a region that is reeling in pain and one step from the precipice,” he told the meeting that included the leaders of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, as well as of Italy and Spain and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
China said its envoy for Middle East issues Zhai Jun would attend, while Russia said it would be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
The absence of a top official from Israel’s main ally the United States and some other major Western leaders has cooled expectations for what the hastily-convened event can achieve.
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The US, which has no ambassador currently assigned to Egypt, was represented by its embassy’s Charge d’Affaires. Israel and Iran were not attending. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were also not present.