by Yu Zhongwen
CAIRO, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egypt, an important regional power and active mediator of the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts, has been engaged in intensive diplomatic and relieving efforts to find a solution to the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian territory of Gaza Strip.
On Monday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks with his visiting French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on means of ending the current Israeli attacks against Gaza.
During the meeting at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the two leaders discussed the ongoing Egyptian efforts to help reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to the official MENA news agency.
They also tackled means of restoring calmness between the Palestinians and Israel in order to pave the way for the resumption of their stalled peace talks leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Sarkozy, who arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh earlier in the day, is also expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories for talks on the Gaza situation.
Sarkozy's visit to the Middle East coincided with the visit of an European Union (EU) delegation which is also on a regional tour including Egypt to promote a ceasefire in Gaza.
The EU delegation, grouping Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, arrived in Egypt on Sunday in a bid to promote a ceasefire in Gaza.
Late on Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also arrived in Egypt to join in the EU delegation for talks with Egyptian officials.
During the talks with the EU top diplomats at Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, Mubarak said that Egypt is firmly committed to helping reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza which has been under intensive Israeli attacks in the past ten days.
The Egyptian leader asserted his country's efforts to relieve the sufferings of the people in Gaza, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit told reporters following the talks.
According to the Egyptian top diplomat, Mubarak also promised that Egypt will continue its efforts to lobby the UN Security Council to approve a resolution calling for an immediate halt of the Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave.
On Saturday, Israel's ground troops entered the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip for the second phase of its offensive on the militant group after eight days of air strikes.
Israel's military action, aimed at retaliating for Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, has killed some 537 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,600 others since the start of the operation on Dec. 27,2008.
On Sunday, Egypt summoned Israeli Ambassador in Cairo Shalom Cohen for the third time during the past week to complain about the escalation of Israel's military offensive against Gaza.
Egypt was "very troubled with the ongoing Israeli onslaught in Gaza," MENA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki as saying.
Egypt has warned that the Israeli attacks on Gaza would threaten the humanitarian situation in the populous Palestinian enclave with a population of some 1.5 million, said Zaki.
Egypt on Sunday also called in ambassadors of the UN Security Council (UNSC) permanent members to Egypt on the latest developments in Gaza.
Egypt expressed its regret at the UNSC's failure to adopt a binding resolution calling for a stop of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, Zaki said in a statement.
Egypt called on the ambassadors to inform their countries respectively to "deal seriously with the current situation in the region," added Zaki.
The UNSC permanent members should shoulder their responsibilities and seek the approval of a binding resolution to press for an immediate halt of the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian enclave, added the spokesman.
In order to help relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Abul Gheit on Sunday called for the establishment of safe corridors to deliver humanitarian aid to the coastal strip.
Abul Gheit has sent messages to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and foreign ministers of the UN Security Council's five permanent member countries on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, according to Zaki.
Egypt has decided to open the Rafah crossing at the Egyptian-Gaza border to receive wounded Palestinians and deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans following Israeli air strikes across the Palestinian enclave.
In another development on Monday, a delegation of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement arrived in Egypt for talks with Egyptian officials on the current conflicts between the Palestinian group and Israeli troops in Gaza.
The Hamas delegation, grouping Hamas senior members Emad al-Alami and Mohamed Nasr, came as the Israeli attacks on Gaza entered its 10th day.
It's also the first Hamas delegation arriving in Egypt for talks on Gaza ceasefire since Israel launched its military offensive in the Palestinian enclave in late December, 2008.
In an interview with the Al-Arabiya news channel, Abul Gheit said Egyptian officials' talks with Hamas delegation will focus on means of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
