Arab leaders arrive in Egypt for emergency summit on Gaza

Arab leaders began to arrive in Egypt on Monday to attend an emergency Arab summit on the war-torn Gaza Strip, Anadolu has reported.

Those known to be attending include Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah. Syria’s delegation is expected to be led by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani arrived in Cairo on Monday to attend preparatory meetings for the summit. Tunisia’s delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Ali Nafti.

The summit on Tuesday aims to formulate a unified Arab stance on the Palestinian issue and present an Arab counterproposal to US plans for the displacement of Gaza’s people. Last month, US President Donald Trump proposed to “take over” Gaza and resettle its population to develop it into a tourist destination, an idea rejected vehemently by the Arab world and many other nations, who said that it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Almost 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 111,000 others have been wounded since October 2023. The offensive has left the enclave in ruins, but has been paused by a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement since 19 January, although a number of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli occupation forces during the ceasefire period. Indeed, reports claim that the ceasefire deal has been broken 900 times or more by the occupation regime.

Israel, moreover, started to block the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday, hours after the expiry of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war against the Palestinians in the enclave.

READ: US supports Israel’s decision to block Gaza aid