Egypt fears ‘all-out’ regional war, blames Israel for stances vs Hamas, Hezbollah
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says at UN headquarters that the flareup between Israel and Hezbollah has harmed ceasefire-hostage talks, slams Jerusalem’s ‘provocative policies’
Egypt’s foreign minister warned Sunday of the risk of an all-out regional war as fighting between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group intensified, saying the escalation had “negatively impacted” long-embattled talks for a ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Badr Abdelatty spoke ahead of an annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York, with a chorus of international powers calling on Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the brink.
“There is great concern about… the possibility of an escalation in the region leading to an all-out regional war,” he told AFP at UN headquarters, adding that the latest spike in violence had “negatively impacted” ceasefire negotiations.
“But Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, has complete determination and commitment to continue” efforts to broker a truce agreement, he said.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have for months tried to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, although the sides remain far apart on key issues.
“All the components of the deal are ready,” Abdelatty said. “The problem is the lack of political will on the Israeli side,” he asserted, despite fellow mediator the United States placing the blame squarely on Hamas.
Abdelatty also blamed Israel’s “provocative policies” for the intensified fighting with Hezbollah, a fellow Iranian proxy terror group.
‘Stop the escalation’
“We are talking to our regional and international partners, including the United States, about the importance of working to stop the escalation and stop the unilateral and provocative policies that Israel is carrying out,” he stated.
A regional conflagration “does not serve the interests of any party,” the top diplomat added.
Abdelatty spoke following meetings in Washington with US officials last week, including White House advisor Amos Hochstein, who is leading efforts to secure a truce between Hezbollah and Israel.
On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi pledged to step up efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza during talks with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken said a ceasefire would be the best way to stop violence from spreading in the Middle East.
“We all know that a ceasefire is the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to address risks to regional stability,” he said.
It was Blinken’s 10th trip to the region since the start of the war, which was sparked by Palestinian terror group Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in Israel.
That attack resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 people, the vast majority of them civilians butchered in their homes or at a music festival, and in 251 people taken hostage, of whom 97 are still being held by terrorists inside the Gaza Strip, including 33 who the Israeli military says are dead.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 41,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
