Italy’s foreign minister to push for immediate cease-fire in Gaza during Riyadh talks

ROME

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will push Monday afternoon for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza at talks in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, his office said.

“The goal is to push for an immediate cease-fire, the liberation of all Israeli hostages and to let humanitarian aid get in, massively, as soon as possible for Gaza’s civilian population,” he said.

“It’s an unbearable emergency, it has to be tackled immediately,” he added.

Tajani will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Jordan in Riyadh. He will share with them the results of the talks at G-7 level on the situation in the Middle East recently held in Capri, Italy.

His office said the meetings will be decisive to relaunch the political process aimed at pushing through a diplomatic solution to the historic Arab-Israeli conflict, based on the “two people-two states” formula.

Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, nearing seven months, has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and left most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

World leaders have urged Israel against a large-scale offensive in the southern city of Rafah, a safe haven for roughly half the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people who have fled the relentless fighting.