Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, strongly condemned the deadly Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, mostly women and children, on March 18.

Israel resumed its assault on Gaza early on, late on March 17 and early March 18, after two months of a ceasefire, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and triggering widespread international condemnation. Israel has blamed Hamas for the breakdown in negotiations to release Israeli hostages, but Hamas denied they had dragged their feet in negotiations. 

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and medical sources in Gaza, the Israeli airstrikes on the Strip have left over 420 deaths and 1,000 wounded, most of whom are women and children, as part of an extensive aerial bombardment by Israeli occupation forces across Gaza.

The Israeli military launched more than 35 airstrikes on various areas of Gaza, while Palestinian rescue teams are facing significant difficulties in reaching the targeted areas due to the continued heavy bombardment from Israeli aircraft and artillery.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit described the resumption of the violence in Gaza as an inhumane act and a direct challenge to the international will that supported the ceasefire.

A spokesman for the Secretary-General, Minister Jamal Rushdi, quoted Aboul Gheit as saying that Israeli occupation leaders are waging an internal battle at the expense of the blood of Gaza's children and women.

He also said that they are risking the lives of Israeli hostages in the sector and ignoring the ceasefire agreement, which was supposed to enter its second phase in the coming days.

Aboul Gheit stressed the urgent need for the international community to speak out loudly to halt the massacre, targeting people who have been subjected to a blockade, with medical and humanitarian aid denied to them in an unprecedented campaign of starvation, systematic killing, and ethnic cleansing.

He called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to immediately cease military operations and return to ceasefire negotiations to reach a comprehensive agreement for the exchange of prisoners and the definitive end of the war.

Egypt has strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, calling them a "blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement" and a "dangerous escalation that threatens the region's stability."

In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "Egypt rejects any attempts to undermine efforts aimed at achieving calm and restoring stability." It called for "giving mediators the opportunity to continue their efforts towards reaching a permanent ceasefire in Gaza" and warned against "reopening a cycle of violence and retaliation in the region."

Egypt has intensified its efforts to rally political and material support for the Arab-Islamic plan for early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza, in addition to preparing for the upcoming Cairo International Conference on Gaza Reconstruction, scheduled for next month.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Migration, Badr Abdel Atti, conducted a series of phone calls with his counterparts from countries in the Arab-Islamic ministerial committee, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, and Palestine, to discuss the implementation of the outcomes of the emergency Cairo summit and the Gaza reconstruction plan.

For his part, the UN human rights chief expressed deep concern over the recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, stating that they "will add tragedy onto tragedy" and called for an urgent end to the "nightmare" in the besieged strip.

"I am horrified by the Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza last night, which, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, killed hundreds. This will only compound the existing tragedy," Volker Turk said.

He added that the violence of the past 18 months has shown there is no military solution to the crisis, and the only viable path forward is a political settlement based on international law. "Israel's continued military actions will only bring more suffering to a Palestinian population already enduring catastrophic conditions," he added.

Turk urged that this "nightmare" must end immediately, calling for the unconditional release of hostages and all those arbitrarily detained. "The war must end permanently," he said.

He also appealed to all influential parties to do everything in their power to achieve peace and prevent further civilian suffering.