Helen McEntee travels to Egypt and Jordan as Government pushes for more aid to enter Gaza

Ms McEntee is expected to meet with senior ministers from Egyptian and Jordanian governments, Tadgh McNally reports from Cairo

During her time in Egypt, foreign afairs minister Helen McEntee is due to visit the Gaza border at the Rafah Crossing, Picture: Brian lawless/PA

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee is travelling to Egypt and Jordan this week, as the Government presses for more aid to get into Gaza.

Ms McEntee is expected to meet with senior ministers from both the Egyptian and Jordanian governments, alongside an audience with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman.

During her time in Egypt, Ms McEntee is due to visit the Gaza border at the Rafah Crossing, while in Amman she will visit a key UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East aid camp.

Ms McEntee said: “Since the ceasefire came into effect over three months ago, the people of Gaza continue to endure the most appalling conditions.

“I will use this visit to press for safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access at scale.

“My visit to the Rafah crossing will be an opportunity to meet with key humanitarian partners and UN agencies, and to highlight the serious impacts of ongoing Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery.

“In Jordan, I will also engage with UN partners on the Syrian refugee response.”

Ms McEntee said engagement with both Egypt and Jordan was “hugely valuable”, given their significant influence in the Middle East.

“Both countries have been at the forefront of efforts to restore a political pathway towards a sustainable and peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“My visit is an opportunity to reiterate Ireland’s full support for these efforts and to highlight our joint ambition for the realisation of the two-State solution”.

It comes as Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians in two separate incidents across the enclave, local health authorities said, as tension rises over continued violence.

More than 440 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Gaza health officials, have been killed since the truce, as well as three Israeli soldiers.

• Additional reporting by Reuters.