Jordan, Iraq, Egypt call for ‘immediate’ international action to stop Israeli operations in Rafah

By Laith Al Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt on Tuesday called for an “immediate” international action to halt Israeli military operations in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

The call was made during a meeting in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Egyptian and Iraqi counterparts, Sameh Shoukry and Fuad Hussein, respectively.

The meeting was held ahead of the 33rd Arab League Summit, which Bahrain is set to host on Thursday.

The ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the crisis in Syria are expected to be key agenda items.

According to a statement released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, the ministers discussed “the latest regional developments, with a particular focus on efforts to halt the ongoing war in Gaza and the resulting unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

Last week, the Israeli army invaded the eastern area of Rafah and captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since last October, leaving the territory’s entire population on the verge of starvation.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.

More than 35,100 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed, and over 79,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.