Title: Fatshimetrie: Egyptian and Lebanese Ministers Join Forces to Prevent Escalation of Gaza Conflict
Amid international tensions heightened by the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian and Lebanese leaders are standing together to prevent the Israeli-led war from escalating into a broader regional conflict. In a joint press conference, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty affirmed that de-escalation efforts are ongoing and intensive.
“I have contacted the US Secretary of State more than three times in a very short period of time. I have also contacted the acting Foreign Minister of Iran several times. We have communicated with the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, and today there is a call with the Chinese Foreign Minister. Prime Minister Najib Mikati and my brother, Minister Bo Habib, have also been in contact,” Abdelatty said.
He also urged the international community to “exert all efforts and apply all forms of pressure to prioritize dialogue and negotiations.” He added that it was imperative to renounce military options and violence in order to avoid “chaos in the region and the world.”
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdullah Bo Habib echoed his Egyptian counterpart’s statements, saying that a regional war would become “a serious possibility” if the international community did not step up to “stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.”
Bo Habib added that they “do not want any war” and urged that any response “must not be collective or strong enough to drag us into a full-scale war.”
The two ministers said they discussed important regional issues during their meeting this week, including addressing tensions emerging from Israel’s war in Gaza and ways to reduce them.
Advocating a shared vision for achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, both countries rejected recent assassinations in the region, including that of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
As world leaders exhaust all possible avenues to prevent the war from becoming a broader regional conflict following the assassinations of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’s top political leader in Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet last weekend that Israel was already engaged in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.
At such a critical juncture, unity and diplomacy are essential to prevent an inevitable destructive escalationThe commitment of the Egyptian and Lebanese ministers to seek peaceful solutions and to mobilize the international community to end the violence demonstrates the resolve of these nations to preserve regional and global stability in these tragic and uncertain times.