On Saturday, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed "the importance of intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon."

This came during a phone call between the two sides, "discussing current developments in the Middle East, especially the situation in the Gaza Strip and its repercussions, especially the humanitarian ones," according to a statement by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

He also discussed "the importance of intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire, provide protection for all civilians, and discuss developments in Lebanon."

During the phone call, the developments in the situation in Sudan and their humanitarian repercussions were discussed.

In a related context, Blinken discussed with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, during a phone call, "regional developments, their security and humanitarian repercussions, and the efforts made in this regard," according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Friday evening.

The US State Department said in a statement on Friday evening that Blinken renewed the United States' continued commitment to ending the conflict in Gaza, Lebanon and Sudan, during two separate calls with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan and Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed, according to what was reported by the American "Al-Hurra" channel.

In his call with Abdullah bin Zayed, Blinken stressed his country's continued commitment to ending the war in Gaza as soon as possible, and the two sides discussed efforts to secure the release of Israeli prisoners, increase aid, and provide a path that will enable Palestinians in Gaza to rebuild their lives, strengthen governance, security, and reconstruction, according to the statement.

Blinken also spoke with bin Farhan and affirmed his country's continued commitment to ending the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, expressing his appreciation for Saudi Arabia's efforts in providing aid to the Palestinians.

Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, Israel has closed the crossings with the Strip and prevented the entry of basic goods and commodities. It also imposes restrictions on the entry of humanitarian and relief aid and sometimes prevents it from reaching the Strip, causing a major living crisis.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 146,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

After clashes with factions in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, which began the day after Israel launched a war of genocide on the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv expanded the scope of the genocide since September 23 to include most areas of Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, through air strikes, and also began a ground invasion in the south.

The aggression on Lebanon resulted in a total of 3,117 martyrs and 13,888 wounded, including a large number of children and women, in addition to about 1,400,000 displaced persons. Most of the victims and displaced persons were recorded after September 23, according to Anadolu Agency’s monitoring of the latest official Lebanese data announced until Friday evening.