WASHINGTON: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has held talks with Egyptian Minister of Defense General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
They discussed efforts to boost security in the Middle East after war in the Gaza Strip. “Lloyd Austin expressed appreciation for Egypt’s effort to facilitate the provision of humanitarian help and the safe evacuation of American nationals from the Gaza Strip,” in a statement the Pentagon said.
“The two sides also held discussion on the significance of civilian security,” it said. A month of persistent bombardment in the Gaza Strip has killed over 10,300 Palestinians, two-thirds of them children and women, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. Over 2,300 are believed buried from Israeli airstrikes that reduced the whole city blocks to debris.
War in Gaza
About 70 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million citizens have fled their houses, and many of them are crowded into United Nations schools-turned-shelters. Civilian population in the Gaza Strip are relying on a trickle of help and their own daily searching for water and food from supplies that have decreased after weeks of blockade.
As the Israeli airstrikes continued to ravage Gaza, UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA) spokesperson Jens Laerke has warned that the besieged enclave’s essential services are on the brink of collapse due to falling fuel provisions. Laerke disclosed that none of the 569 aid trucks that managed to reach the enclave carried fuel, exacerbating an already dire situation.
Read Also: OIC Secretariat Urges Global Community to Help Resolve Kashmir Issue
Last week, UN aid head Martin Griffiths admitted “some progress” in talks concerning fuel deliveries to the besieged Gaza Strip. However, the situation on the ground remains dire, with World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier highlighting the dire consequences of the fuel shortage. “More and more facilities are closing down, and life-saving resources are diminishing,” Lindmeier emphasized. He stressed the urgent need for immediate intervention.
