The Saudi Foreign Minister and several of his Arab counterparts on Tuesday urged for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for the lifting of the siege on the strip.
Speaking after a United Nations Security Council Ministerial, Prince Faisal bin Farhan demanded an immediate ceasefire in the war-torn enclave, adding that there will not be peace in the region without a just solution to the Palestinian issue.
The Saudi official was joined by Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman al-Safadi, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.
For his part, al-Safadi warned there is a real threat of the Isreal-Hamas conflict expanding into the West Bank, Lebanon and other fronts. He also said that unless the Israeli-Hamas war stops, there is a “real danger” of a spillover.
He said Israel “appeared” to be above international law and urged an end to what he termed “double standards” in dealing with the Gaza conflict.
Al-Safadi added that the international community had an obligation to end Israel’s war “against Palestinians” in Gaza.
Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip for more than two weeks after Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials. More than 5,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, and mostly children and women, have been killed across the besieged enclave in Israeli strikes in retaliation for the attacks, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.
Supplies of food, water, medicines and fuel have been also running critically low for Gaza’s 2.3 million people since Israel began its bombardment and “total siege.”
Since Saturday, 54 trucks have crossed into Gaza carrying food, medicine and water, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as “a drop of aid in an ocean of need.” An additional 20 trucks that had been due to deliver aid to the besieged Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing from Egypt on Tuesday had not entered the enclave, according to the UN.
The Arab officials jointly called for humanitarian aid to be urgently delivered in a sustainable way to the Palestinians.
While the foreign ministers condemned the killing of all civilians, regardless of their nationalities, the Egyptian official said what Israel is doing in Gaza does not fall under the term of self-defense. He also rejected the “double standards” regarding what is happening in the enclave.
Source: Al Arabiya