Activities of Secretary-General in Egypt, 22-24 March

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The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, arrived in Cairo from Brussels on Friday night, 22 March.

On Saturday morning, he arrived in Al Arish in North Sinai on a plane provided by the Government of Egypt.  In Al Arish, he was welcomed by the Governor of North Sinai, Major-General Mohamed Abdel-Fadil Shousha.

In Al Arish, he visited the General Hospital and met with medical doctors and injured Palestinians who were getting treatment in the hospital — mainly women and children.  He also saw children who are staying in the hospital as their mothers are getting treatment after being injured as a result of the conflict.

The Secretary-General then went by car to the Rafah Border Crossing where he held a meeting with a number of humanitarian workers representing the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières and UK-Med. They crossed the border from Gaza to meet with him.

The Secretary-General then spoke to the press on the border.  He told reporters that “it is monstrous that after so much suffering over so many months, Palestinians in Gaza are marking Ramadan with Israeli bombs still falling, bullets still flying, artillery still pounding and humanitarian assistance still facing obstacle upon obstacle.”

Upon return to Al Arish, met with the press and answered their questions.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General returned to Cairo by plane.  He immediately went to a Ramadan Iftar (breaking the fast) with a number of refugees from Sudan.

The next day, on Sunday, the Secretary-General had a meeting with the UN country team in Egypt.

After that, he headed to the Presidential Palace where he held a bilateral meeting with President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.  From there, he headed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he held a bilateral meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry.  The two held a joint press encounter where Mr. Guterres reiterated that “nothing justifies the abhorrent 7 October Hamas attacks and hostage-taking in Israel.  But nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

The Secretary-General then went to see the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Tayeb.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations (UN).

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