Foreign ministers of Türkiye, UAE discuss situation in Gaza

By Gozde Bayar

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke over the phone and discussed the situation in Gaza, according to Turkish diplomatic sources on Saturday.

Fidan and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the draft resolution adopted by the UN Security Council regarding the current situation in Gaza and humanitarian aid.

Underlining the importance of making maximum efforts to carry out humanitarian aid activities in the most effective way, Fidan said the ultimate goal is to ensure permanent peace in the region and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

They also discussed the activities of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Gaza Contact Group that was established as a result of the Extraordinary Joint Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League.

The duo agreed on joint efforts to keep the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza on the agenda of the international community.

On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for "urgent steps" to immediately allow "safe, unhindered, and expanded" humanitarian access to Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli offensive on the strip, but with the US again nixing language calling for a cease-fire in the conflict before the vote.

After several days of intense negotiations and nail-biting delays, the resolution submitted by the United Arab Emirates passed by a vote of 13-0, with the US and Russia – both permanent council members – abstaining.

The resolution demands the parties to the conflict allow and facilitate the use of all available routes to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including border crossings, to ensure humanitarian personnel and assistance reach the civilian population in need.

Since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip, killing at least 20,258 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 53,688 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.