WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Ambassador Motaz Zahran to discuss avenues to reopen key Gaza hospitals under the supervision of a credible, neutral third party in order to help innocent civilians caught in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. They also discussed ways to govern and rebuild Gaza. Last week, Durbin spoke by phone with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss his proposal to reopen Gaza hospitals. Durbin was also joined by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
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“Egypt is a critical voice in the Middle East and is to be commended for its role in getting humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Durbin said. “During today’s meeting, we discussed the enormous ongoing humanitarian, security, and post-conflict governance challenges involving Gaza, as well as the importance of a long term two state solution. We also discussed options for helping reopen secured Gaza hospitals under the supervision of a neutral third party that could allow for the treatment of civilians to resume. Any such move will require all sides to agree to end hostilities in and around the hospitals, which I hope can occur without delay.”
A photo of the meeting is available here.
Recently, Durbin took to the Senate floor to call for the reopening of Gaza hospitals, emphasizing that innocent civilians should not be left without access to proper medical treatment. In his remarks, Durbin also called on Congress to pass President Biden’s emergency supplemental request, which includes emergency funds for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian crises, which the Senate is expected to vote on today.
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