CAIRO/RIYADH – Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Friday, October 4, 2024, urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to fulfill its responsibilities and secure an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been accused of carrying out a genocide since last year.

The call came during a phone conversation between Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and reported by Anadolu Agency.

The ministers discussed the situation in Lebanon and the Israeli escalation in the region, highlighting ongoing coordination and consultation between the two countries. They demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza.

The statement emphasized continued coordination between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to address the risks facing the Arab region due to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Both ministers condemned the Israeli assault on Lebanon, resulting in hundreds of casualties, and expressed full solidarity with Lebanon and its people.

Shoukry and bin Farhan stressed the importance of providing all forms of humanitarian support to the Lebanese people and enabling the Lebanese state to perform its duties and assert its sovereignty over all Lebanese territory. They rejected any arrangements or measures affecting Lebanon's safety and sovereignty.

The two countries warned against the continuation of the escalation and its danger to the region's populations, emphasizing the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in its entirety and by all parties without selectivity.

Since September 23, Israel has launched its most intense and widespread attack on Lebanon since the beginning of confrontations with Hezbollah nearly a year ago, resulting in at least 1,156 deaths, including children and women, more than 3,191 injuries, and 1.2 million displaced people, according to Anadolu Agency.

For the past year, Israel, with U.S. support, has waged a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, resulting in over 138,000 Palestinian casualties (killed and wounded), mostly women and children, and more than 10,000 missing, amidst widespread destruction and a deadly famine, in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.