Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday for talks that encompassed the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Lula, on his second trip to Egypt and his first during his current term, is due to join an Arab League meeting to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by more than four months of war.

The Brazilian leader is expected to give a speech at the gathering, according to a statement from the office of the pan-Arab bloc's secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

In November, Lula accused Israel of committing the "equivalent of terrorism" in Gaza by killing innocent women and children in its war on Hamas.

The war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

At least 28,663 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory military offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Lula and Sisi were also expected to discuss "joint coordination in international forums", Egyptian presidential spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said in a statement.

The Brazilian leader's visit to Egypt coincides with the 100th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, both members of the BRICS grouping of major emerging economies.