Cairo hosts multilateral Arab ministerial meeting on Gaza
Mar 22, 2024
Cairo [Egypt], March 22: Ministers from five Arab countries met Thursday with the PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh to discuss the war in the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement released by the Egyptian presidency, al-Sheikh, as well as the foreign ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE minister of state for international cooperation, called for "achieving a comprehensive and immediate ceasefire, increasing the access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and opening all crossings between Israel and Gaza."
They called for clearing the obstacles to aid delivery in Gaza and providing full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The officials rejected any attempts to displace Palestinians from their land or liquidate the Palestinian cause, urging Israel to stop all unilateral measures that undermine the chances of achieving just peace, including its settlement construction.
Israel has been launching a massive offensive against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza in retaliation for the latter's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.
Since then, the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 31,988 Palestinians and wounded 74,188 others, according to the update by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua