RIYADH

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt held talks in Riyadh on Monday to discuss efforts to reach a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip.

An Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, “especially the situation in Gaza and efforts being made in this regard.”

The Egyptian minister arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday for talks with Saudi officials.

For months, Egypt, Qatar and the US have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed more than 40,130 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,700, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul