The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan discussed on Friday the importance of continued efforts to determine immediate means to stop hostilities in the Gaza Strip as the conflict continued for a fifth day. According to an official statement by the foreign ministry, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received a phone call from his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi over escalations in Palestine. They discussed the prevention of provocations in Jerusalem and discussed pushing with high efforts to safeguard the rights of Palestinian people. The ministers agreed on the necessity of a serious move towards the resumption of the peace process track. In addition to providing a genuine political prospect that aims to end the conflict through a fair and permanent solution towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. They also stressed the continuation of intensified contacts with the parties concerned, including the international community, for a rapid conclusion of the current crisis and efforts aimed at a comprehensive settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. Egypt's efforts come as hostilities entered their fifth day with no signs of receding along with Israel firing Gaza with artillery and air strikes on Friday in response to rocket attacks from the strip, which is controlled by Hamas, on Israeli towns. The fighting, which began on Monday, has been deemed the most serious since 2014 after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in retaliation to the hostilities by Israeli police against Palestinian protesters near Al-Aqsa Mosque. Some 119 people were killed in Gaza, with an injury toll climbing up to 830 after Israel stepped up fighting on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said. The death toll in Israel stood at eight, Israeli authorities said, as according to Reuters.
