World leaders at Cairo Peace Summit call for civilian safety in Gaza

Oct. 21 (UPI) -- World leaders attending the Cairo Peace Summit on Saturday called for an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza as well as the safe passage of aid across the border into the Palestinian enclave.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is hosting the summit, which is being attended by Jordan's King Abdullah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as heads of state from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, leaders from European Union nations and several other countries including the United States, Canada, Japan and Brazil.

China and Russia also have delegates at the summit, which came as the first convoy of trucks carrying aid and supplies crosses the border from Egypt into Gaza after lengthy delays.

"Today, Israel is literally starving civilians in Gaza, but for decades, Palestinians have been starved of hope, of freedom, and a future," Jordanian King Abdullah told attendees during his address.

"The bloodshed we are witnessing today is the price of that, of failing to make tangible progress towards a political horizon that brings peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike," he said.

Israel continues to bomb Gaza ahead of an expected ground incursion into the small Palestinian region in response to an Oct. 7 attack by the militant wing of Hamas inside Israeli territory.

The attack left 1,400 Israelis dead with over 100 kidnapped and taken back to Gaza as hostages, leading Israel to "declare war" on Hamas, which governs Gaza.

More than 4,300 Palestinians have since died in the Israeli campaign, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.

"We strongly condemn Hamas's ignoble terrorist attack on Israel and its people and call for the unconditional and immediate release of hostages," European Council President Charles Michel said during the summit Saturday.

"We affirm the importance of protecting civilians and protecting civilian infrastructure, always and everywhere and at all times. And lastly, we affirm Israel's right to defend itself. That right to defend itself must be exercised in line with international law and with international humanitarian law."

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday confirmed two American hostages being held in Gaza have been released safely and are receiving medical care.

Other Western countries also voiced their support for Israel to defend itself.

"I am sure we all share the revulsion at Hamas's murderous acts of terrorism, the targeting of civilians, the murdering of children, the desecration of dead bodies," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told summit attendees.

"The U.K. is clear and has been consistently clear that Israel has the right to self-defense and the right to secure the release of those who were kidnapped on the 7th of October."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called for safe passage of aid into Gaza, after making a similar plea Friday.

"Those trucks need to move as quickly as possible in a massive, sustained and safe way from Egypt into Gaza," Guterres said Saturday, adding additional aid should also be permitted as long as required.

"The time has come for action. Action to end this godawful nightmare. Action to build a future worthy of the dreams of the children of Palestine, Israel, the region and our world."

All countries called for the safety of civilians during the conflict.

"Let me be very clear, there is no doubt: all civilian lives matter just the same," said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

"Let me also be clear that the cause of all the suffering of these past weeks -- the suffering that brings us here today -- has a name. It was Hamas that brought horrendous terror over Israel on October 7th, committing atrocious crimes.

"Like any other country in the world, Israel has the right to defend itself and to protect its people against this terror within the framework of international law," Baerbock said.