All Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails should be released, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi said during the latter's visit to Cairo on Sunday.
"The two sides exchanged views on the situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing that all hostages and prisoners from both sides should be released," according to a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Shoukry and Wang also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and an end to "violent actions against civilians" in the besieged Palestinian enclave. They reiterated their support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
The foreign ministers reiterated their "rejection of the forced displacement of Palestinians from their legitimate territories" and called on the international community to "make all necessary efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and establish appropriate mechanisms there."
The two diplomats also called on all world powers to provide comprehensive support to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to "facilitate the fulfillment of all its mandated tasks" to ensure security in the Palestinian territories.
In addition, Shoukry and Wang expressed their fears that the escalating situation in the Red Sea region could spread the conflict to the entire Middle East region, and agreed to continue coordination between Egypt and the People's Republic of China to reduce the current escalation in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt was the first country visited by Wang Yi during his tour of African countries. He also plans to visit Tunisia, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire before January 18 this year. After that, the Chinese foreign minister will visit Brazil and Jamaica.