CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and International Crisis Group President Comfort Ero discussed the Israel-Hamas war and developments in Sudan and Libya at the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development on Tuesday. Shoukry said he appreciated Ero’s participation in the forum, which brings together senior representatives of international and regional organizations and members of the academic community to exchange views on conflict resolution and peacebuilding across the African continent. Shoukry said civilian casualties among women and children as a result of the war in Gaza far exceeded the humanitarian repercussions of similar conflicts over the past decades. The situation, he said, “constitutes a real human catastrophe as nearly eight months have passed since the outbreak of the war.” He stressed it was incumbent on Israel to halt the war. He also underlined Egypt’s mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas, in conjunction with partners in the US and Qatar. He talked about an action plan to pursue a serious peace process that guaranteed the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the vision of the two-state solution. The minister also expressed Egypt’s deep concern over Sudan’s spiraling into a similar humanitarian catastrophe as a result of continued fighting. “It requires an immediate and sustainable cessation of military operations to preserve the lives and property of the Sudanese people,” he said, stressing the importance of protecting state institutions. Any genuine political solution, he added, must be founded on an exclusively Sudanese vision without pressure from any external parties. As regards Libya, Shoukry said Egypt would continue its efforts to converge views among the relevant parties in a way that contributed to strengthening a solution and respected the elected state institutions, leading to simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections. He emphasized the need for foreign forces and mercenaries to depart Libya within a specific timeframe in order to preserve its unity, sovereignty and stability. In a separate meeting, Shoukry received Abdallah Al-Dardari, director of the regional bureau for Arab states of the UN Development Programme, on the forum’s sidelines. Al-Dardari highlighted the presence of UNDP teams inside the Gaza Strip and their efforts to provide sewage networks and develop an early recovery plan, inviting Egyptian companies and expertise to join their efforts.