Palestinians look for survivors of the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah on Oct 23, 2023. (PHOTO/AP）

CAIRO/DAMASCUS/BEIRUT/TEHRAN - Leaders and officials from different countries urged on Monday to end the ongoing military escalation in the Gaza Strip.

During a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and visiting Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim agreed on the need to coordinate efforts to end the escalation and achieve calm, as well as provide the necessary protection for Palestinian civilians, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The two sides also stressed the need to continue to provide safe and urgent access to humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip.

The two leaders also expressed concern regarding the possible expansion of the violence to the region, while rejecting the liquidation of the Palestinian issue by forcibly displacing Gaza people.

They confirmed that the only way out of the current crisis is for the international community to exert concerted efforts to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, based on the two-state solution.

ALSO READ: Hamas releases 2 Israeli hostages as more aid reaches Gaza

Syria and Lebanon on Monday jointly condemned the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate stop to the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met with his visiting Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in the Syrian capital of Damascus, where they underscored the importance of continued consultation and strategic alignment to address the pressing common challenges, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed the latest political and field developments in Palestine and Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip with leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement

During the visit, both sides reiterated their unwavering commitment to addressing the plight of the Palestinian people, stressing unconditional and immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

They vehemently rejected any attempts aimed at the displacement of the Palestinians or delegitimization of the Palestinian cause.

Moreover, they stressed the urgent need for the enforcement of related international resolutions to put an end to the Israeli occupation of Arab territories, while advocating for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The discussion also delved into the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, with both nations highlighting collaborative efforts to ensure the dignified and safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

The two sides agreed to initiate subsequent coordination meetings to address important issues including the safe return of displaced individuals, border control, the exchange of convicts, and other matters of mutual concern.

ALSO READ: Bloodshed takes shocking toll on Gaza children

Also on Monday, Lebanese Defense Minister Maurice Slim met Monday with his visiting Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto in Beirut to discuss the ongoing heated Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, Crosetto stressed the importance of preventing external parties from getting involved in the conflict.

The Italian official called for the protection of innocent civilians and highlighted the ongoing collaboration between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese army.

He also expressed Italy's readiness to provide additional support to the Lebanese army.

Italian soldiers play an important role in UNIFIL's peacekeeping mission, as out of the 9,994 UNIFIL peacekeepers responsible for border monitoring, 1,103 are Italian soldiers.

Slim, for his part, thanked Italy for its support and assistance to Lebanon, reaffirming Lebanon's commitment to ensuring the safety of UNIFIL and continuing its cooperation with the UN mission.

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to a hospital in Rafah on Monday, Oct 23, 2023. (PHOTO/AP)

The Lebanese official condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, considering them violations of international humanitarian law, and expressed concerns about the potential displacement of Palestinians from their land, which could escalate and expand the conflict.

The visit of the Italian minister to Lebanon also coincided with ongoing border exchanges between Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, Palestinian groups, and the Israeli army along the Lebanese-Israeli border.

The escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border began when Hezbollah fired multiple rockets on Oct 8 toward Israeli military sites in support of a Hamas surprise attack against Israel on the previous day. In response, the Israeli forces fired heavy artillery on southeastern Lebanon on the same day. 

ALSO READ: Palestine-Israel conflict: Wang urges to prevent escalation

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed the latest political and field developments in Palestine and Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip with leaders of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement.

In two separate phone calls, Amir-Abdollahian informed Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, and PIJ Secretary-General Ziad al-Nakhalah, of Iran's latest diplomatic efforts in the international arena to support the Palestinians and condemn Israel's attacks on Gaza, according to a statement published on the Iranian Foreign Ministry's website on Monday.

Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran's support for the Palestinians, calling for "an immediate end" to Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave through Rafah border crossing, and the prevention of the displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

While elaborating on the latest situation in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes, Haniyeh praised Iran for its stances in support of Palestinians. He said the unwavering support that US provided for Israel was a main reason for the continuation of the Israeli "crimes" against the people of Gaza.

The PIJ chief warned that the lack of medicine and fuel as well as the breakdown of the hospitals' power generators would be the "prelude to a huge humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza."

He also thanked Iran for its support of the Palestinian people, stressing the significance of the "increasing international solidarity with Palestine."