Egypt's Sisi to host Jordan king on Thursday over Gaza

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will host Jordan's King Abdullah II for a summit in Cairo on Thursday, the presidency said, as violence in the neighbouring Gaza Strip spirals.

The Jordanian royal court said in a statement that the two leaders would "discuss means to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza."

Israel has been carrying out air and artillery strikes on Gaza since Hamas attacked towns in southern Israel near the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7 which killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

Gaza's health ministry says that Israel's relentless and indiscriminate strikes have killed 3,785 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave, most of whom are women and children.

Sisi and King Abdullah had been due to hold talks with US President Joe Biden and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan this week, but Jordan cancelled the meeting after an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza city killed 471 people.

Their meeting comes on the same day that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected in Cairo.

In a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Cairo on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed "the priority of delivering humanitarian and emergency aid to the people of Gaza," according to the foreign ministry.

Sisi also discussed "the situation in Gaza" with US Central Command chief Michael Kurilla, his office said Thursday.

Hundreds of trucks are awaiting entry into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt following a recent deal over aid supplies between Egypt and Israel.

Egypt and Jordan were the first Arab states to normalise relations with Israel, in 1979 and 1994 respectively, and have since been key mediators between Israeli and Palestinian officials.