Participants in the Gaza Emergency Humanitarian Response Conference called for allowing humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip and to put pressure on Israel not to use the weapon of starvation against the residents of the Gaza Strip. They stressed that there is no safe zone in Gaza.
In the opening session of the conference hosted by Amman, King Abdullah II of Jordan said that the process of delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza cannot wait for a ceasefire or be subject to a political agenda, demanding its immediate entry.
The King of Jordan added that the Rafah operation exacerbated the deteriorating situation in Gaza, stressing that there is no safe place in all parts of the Strip.
For his part, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that Israel alone bears responsibility for what the Gaza Strip is experiencing.
Al-Sisi called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, obligating Israel to stop using hunger as a weapon, ending the siege, and removing obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip through the crossings.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties concerned with the conflict to reach an agreement on the ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden.
“I welcome the peace initiative recently proposed by President Biden and urge all parties to seize this opportunity and reach an agreement,” Guterres said a day after the Security Council endorsed the proposed plan.
Guterres described conditions in Gaza as “unfortunate”, saying that the rapid pace and scale of death and killing there is the worst he has seen since assuming the position of UN Secretary-General in 2017.
He stressed that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip, and the deteriorating situation is getting worse, noting that all aid is prevented from entering.
He reported that 80% of the population of the Gaza Strip do not have access to drinking water due to the continuation of the war and the cessation of aid. He said that the fear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are experiencing must stop, calling for an end to the war and respect for international law.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations also called for the release of detainees, calling on Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to quickly reach an agreement, protect civilians in the Gaza Strip and secure the infrastructure necessary for their livelihood.
He stressed the need for governments and peoples to donate for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, noting that the solution in Gaza is political, and is achieved through peace and coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.
In turn, Martin Griffiths, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, called for ensuring the opening of the crossings and the delivery of aid to Gaza, stressing the importance of the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and its workers, and said that UNRWA is the basis of humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip.
For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the Security Council and the international community have a responsibility to pressure Israel to open all its land borders with Gaza and hand them over to the Palestinian government.
Abbas added, “Above and before all of that, efforts must be continued for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, to open the way for the establishment of the State of Palestine and its assuming its full duties.”
He pointed out that the political solution based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative requires Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations.
The Gaza Emergency Humanitarian Response Conference will be held at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center on the shore of the Dead Sea, jointly organized by the United Nations, Jordan and Egypt, in the presence of representatives of 75 countries and heads of international humanitarian and relief organizations. It aims to “identify ways to enhance the international community’s response to the humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.” According to a statement by the Jordanian Royal Court.
