Egypt stresses the need to reach a "permanent" ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Egypt stressed on Thursday the need to reach a "permanent" ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

This came during a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and his US counterpart Marco Rubio, according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Abdel-Ati began an indefinite visit to Washington, during which he will meet with US officials.

On Monday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in a televised address, called on his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to halt the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and allow aid into the territory, which is suffering from famine amid a US-backed war of extermination that has been ongoing since October 7, 2023.

According to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, "An extensive discussion took place between Abdel Aati and Rubio regarding the successive regional developments, most notably the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, the tragic developments in Sudan, as well as the situations in Libya, Syria, and Lebanon, the issue of Egyptian water security, and the situation in the African continent."

Regarding the Palestinian issue, Minister Abdel-Ati reiterated the "need to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement in Gaza."

He stressed the "need to spare the blood of the Palestinian people and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, given the catastrophic conditions it is suffering as a result of a systematic Israeli policy of starvation, and the importance of quickly addressing this urgent humanitarian crisis."

Since the genocide began on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.

The US-backed genocide left more than 207,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.

According to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Abdel-Ati and Rubio discussed "the situation in Sudan and the importance of reaching a ceasefire (which has been in place since April 2023) and the provision of aid."

Abdel-Ati affirmed his country's "supportive stance toward Sudanese state institutions and the need to respect the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Sudan."

Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been waging a war that has resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 people and the displacement of approximately 15 million, according to UN and local authorities. A study by American universities put the death toll at approximately 130,000.

Regarding Egypt's water security, Abdel-Ati emphasized the "necessity of cooperation based on quickly reaching a binding legal agreement governing the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam."

He stressed his "rejection of unilateral Ethiopian measures that violate international law," affirming that "Egypt will take all measures guaranteed by international law to protect its water security."

For years, Cairo and Khartoum have been demanding that a legally binding tripartite agreement be reached first regarding the filling and operation of the dam, whose construction began in 2011, particularly during times of drought, to ensure the continued flow of their respective shares of Nile water.

Addis Ababa rejects this, arguing that the dam is essential to development efforts, particularly through electricity generation, and will not harm the interests of any other country. This led to a three-year freeze in negotiations, before they resumed in 2023 and were frozen again in 2024.

Egypt's foreign minister also met in Washington with members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ted Cruz and Chris Coons, according to separate statements from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

During the two meetings, Abdel-Ati discussed "developments in the Gaza Strip, Egypt's tireless efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement, and developments in several flashpoints in the region, including Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, the Iranian nuclear file, and the Ethiopian dam."