Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, issued a stark warning on Sunday regarding the growing threat of a full-scale regional war, as clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah escalated. He cautioned that the rising tensions were undermining efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking ahead of the United Nations’ annual summit of world leaders, Abdelatty expressed concern over the risk of broader regional warfare. “There is great concern about… the possibility of an escalation in the region leading to an all-out regional war,” he told AFP from the UN headquarters, stressing that the intensified conflict was hampering ceasefire talks.
Despite the setbacks, Abdelatty reaffirmed that Egypt, alongside Qatar and the United States, remained firmly committed to securing a truce in Gaza. For months, Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been engaged in negotiations aimed at achieving both a ceasefire and a deal to release hostages held in Gaza. According to Abdelatty, all the necessary components for the agreement are in place, but a lack of political will on the Israeli side has stalled progress.
Abdelatty also blamed Israel’s provocative actions for the escalation with Hezbollah, which is aligned with Hamas.
“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,” said Abdelatty, warning that a regional war would be in no one’s interest.
Abdelatty made these comments after holding meetings in Washington with US officials, including Amos Hochstein, who is leading efforts to mediate a truce between Lebanon and Israel.
Earlier in the week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also reiterated his country’s commitment to ceasefire efforts during talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken underscored that a ceasefire would be key to preventing the violence from spreading across the Middle East.
Since the outbreak of the conflict, which was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October, over 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, have been killed. Hostage situations remain ongoing, with 97 individuals still held in Gaza, according to Israeli military sources.
On the Palestinian side, more than 41,400 people have died in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, based on figures from the Gaza health ministry. These figures have been acknowledged as reliable by the United Nations.