Iran, Egypt condemn Israeli Gaza plans, call for urgent action
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Iran and Egypt stressed the urgency of halting bloodshed in Gaza, ensuring humanitarian aid, and coordinating regional efforts to counter Israeli policies.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stands waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, denounced the Israeli regime's plans for the military occupation of Gaza City and the forced displacement of its residents during a late-night phone call on Wednesday.
Both diplomats voiced deep concern over what they described as "Israel’s relentless genocidal crimes” in the blockaded Palestinian territory, condemning the “illegal and criminal” measures aimed at forcibly displacing Gaza’s population.
The ministers underscored the urgent need to halt the bloodshed and ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians trapped inside Gaza.
Abdelatty outlined joint efforts by Egypt and Qatar to broker a ceasefire, while Araghchi highlighted a proposal by Iran and other states to convene an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah next week.
Araghchi added that the gathering would provide a platform to coordinate policies and pursue “practical measures” to support Palestinians and counter the Israeli regime's broader "Greater Israel" strategy, which he said seeks to usurp more Islamic and Arab territories.
On al-Aqsa fire anniversary, Hamas warns against 'Greater Israel'
Earlier today, Hamas declared that “Israel” holds no legitimacy over the holy site and warned that all efforts to erase its Islamic identity are doomed to fail, in a statement marking the 556th anniversary of the incident of burning the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque fire, which occurred on August 21, 1969, was carried out by an extremist Australian national named Michael Dennis Rohan. The flames consumed the entire contents of the eastern wing of the Qibli Mosque, located on the southern side of the Al-Aqsa compound, including its historic pulpit known as the Salah al-Din pulpit.
The movement condemned “Israel’s” ongoing crimes in Gaza over the past 22 months, including blockades, massacres, and mass killings, as well as its settlement expansion and Judaization policies in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds. Hamas also denounced all attempts by the Israeli occupation to Judaize al-Aqsa, alter its features, erase its identity, or divide it temporally and spatially, in addition to pushing forward the so-called plan to construct a ‘Third Temple’ atop its ruins.
“Al-Quds and al-Aqsa will remain the enduring symbol of the Palestinian struggle and the compass of unity for the Palestinian people and the Islamic Ummah,” the statement affirmed, stressing that "Israel" will never hold sovereignty or authority over even a single inch of al-Aqsa Mosque, no matter how long the struggle endures or how great the sacrifices may be.
