Egypt calls Israel's war in Gaza 'systematic genocide'

Egyptian president and foreign minister call out international community

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaking at a news conference after his meeting in Athens. AFP

Egypt has ratcheted up its criticism of Israel, branding its 22-month war in Gaza “systematic genocide” and calling out the international community for not doing more to stop the conflict.

The comments by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, made separately, constituted Egypt's most scathing reprimand of Israel over the Gaza war. They are likely to accelerate the steady deterioration of relations between the two neighbours bound by a 1979 peace treaty.

“The war that's going on in Gaza is no longer waged to realise political objectives or free hostages, but rather a war for starvation, genocide and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause,” Mr El Sisi said on Tuesday after talks in Cairo with his Vietnamese counterpart.

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He accused Israel of attempting to hollow out the Palestinian cause and added: “History will reflect for a long time before it holds to account and bring to justice many nations for their position on this war.

“The world's conscience will not be silent for much longer,” said Mr El Sisi, who spoke again on Gaza on Wednesday.

An aircraft drops humanitarian aid packages over the Gaza Strip, seen from Israel. Reuters

On a visit to Greece on Wednesday, Mr Abdelatty said the world's response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza was shameful and he urged western powers to increase pressure on Israel.

“The international community should be ashamed of the tragic situation unfolding in Gaza and the devastating actions carried out by Israel,” he told reporters in Athens. “What is unfolding is a human tragedy, and the suffering witnessed is a stain on the conscience of the international community.”

Widespread reports of hunger in Gaza have heightened international concern over the devastating consequences of Israeli military operations launched on October 7, 2023, following a deadly attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israeli communities.

At least 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to authorities in Gaza. Most of the enclave's 2.2 million residents have been displaced, many more than once, and large swathes of its built-up areas razed.

Echoing President El Sisi's comments, Mr Abdelatty described Israel’s military action in Gaza as “systematic genocide”.

Egypt has been trying, along with the United States and Qatar, to broker a pause in the Gaza war and secure the release of the estimated 50 Israeli hostages held by Hamas, in return for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Lorries carrying humanitarian aid lined up near the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Reuters

Egypt, which neighbours both Gaza and Israel, has criticised Israel's actions while repeatedly warning that it will not stand idly by if difficult living conditions created by Israel in the enclave force Palestinians to move into its Sinai Peninsula.

Such action, Mr El Sisi has said, would undermine Egypt's national security and hollow out the Palestinian cause.

While a traditional champion of Palestinian rights, Egypt has in recent weeks come under criticism from activists at home and abroad for not doing more to allow humanitarian supplies in through its border with Gaza.

Mr El Sisi has sought to discredit these charges on at least three recent occasions, in a televised address to the nation, his comments on Tuesday and again on Wednesday when he spoke to cadets at the military academy.

Israel, he argued, has occupied the Palestinian side of the border with Gaza, including the Rafah crossing, the only point of entry and exit for Gaza that is not controlled by the Israelis. Sending aid through the crossing requires advance co-ordination with Israel, he said.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said: 'The world's conscience will not be silent for much longer.' AFP

Egypt has, alongside other nations, taken part in air drops of supplies into Gaza, but the method has been described by UN experts as insufficient.

Pro-government pundits suspect the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned in Egypt since 2013, is behind the campaign over Egypt's perceived inaction to alleviate Gazans' suffering. Scores of Palestinians have died from famine or malnutrition-related ailments.

“Egypt is continuing to work towards pausing the war, the entry of humanitarian aid [into Gaza] and the release of the hostages … despite the campaigns of defamation and misinformation that target its vital role,” Mr El Sisi told the military cadets on Wednesday.