Israeli operation in Gaza goes beyond self-defense: Egyptian president

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi warned on Sunday that the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip has gone beyond self-defense and turned into collective punishment.

Sisi made the remarks during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, according to the Egyptian presidency.

The president affirmed that the current crisis is immense, noting that the Israeli response to the Hamas attack has exceeded the right of self-defense and turned into collective punishment for the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2.3 million people.

Sisi added that there has been accumulated anger and hatred between Israel and the Palestinians due to the lack of a horizon for resolving the Palestinian issue.

He warned that the current crisis could have repercussions on the entire Middle East region, stressing the need to contain the escalation and prevent other parties from engaging in the conflict.

Sisi also called for facilitating aid delivery to the besieged Palestinian enclave, which has faced a dire shortage of water, electricity, fuel, and food.

For his part, Blinken said his visit to Cairo focuses on joint work to resolve the current crisis and protect civilians, as well as consult on working out the "future path."

The Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip a week ago, prompting Israel to launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza.

So far, 2,670 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while more than 1,300 people in Israel have died from the Hamas-led attacks.