Cairo, Jun 7 (IANS): White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk has held separate meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki here to discuss the latest developments of the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
During McGurk's meeting with Shoukry on Thursday, they discussed the recent US proposal for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, including an exchange of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages, highlighting the joint mediation efforts made by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in this regard, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ceasefire deal was proposed in late May by US President Joe Biden to end the conflict between Israel and Gaza-ruling Hamas, which has been going on over the past eight months.
Shoukry and McGurk stressed the importance for the two sides to reach a deal "as soon as possible" and take "serious and real steps" to ensure a ceasefire in the entire Gaza Strip, Xinhua news agency reported.
McGurk's meeting with the Egyptian Defense Minister touched on "the current regional developments in light of the continuation of (Israeli) military operations inside the Gaza Strip and their extremely difficult humanitarian repercussions", said a statement by the Egyptian military.
The Israeli army launched a military operation on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah in early May and took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, a lifeline for delivering humanitarian aid from Egypt to Gaza. The move led to the closure of the vital crossing, with Egypt demanding Israeli withdrawal from its Palestinian side.
McGurk and Zaki discussed "the efforts made in light of the current initiatives to cease fire, open the crossings, and intensify the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of the strip," according to the Egyptian army's statement.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar managed to mediate a week-long Israel-Hamas truce in late November 2023. Israel and Hamas failed to reach another ceasefire agreement after talks in Cairo last month.