Jordan summit warns against Israel’s reoccupation of Gaza Strip

By Laith Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – A 3-day Arab summit in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba warned against Israel’s reoccupation of parts of the Gaza Strip.

The summit brought together Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The three leaders called “for pushing to halt the Israeli aggression on Gaza and for protecting the defenseless civilians,” Jordan’s Royal Court said in a statement.

They warned against “attempts to reoccupy parts of the Gaza Strip or establish safe zones inside the territory” and called for enabling Gazans to return to their homes, the statement said.

The leaders also reiterated their rejection of any Israeli plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

They also rejected “all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian issue, and to separate Gaza and the West Bank, which constitute an extension of the Palestinian state."

The Arab leaders underlined the need to deliver sustainable and sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza’s population to alleviate the tragic humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,357 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,410 others, according to local health authorities. Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Mohammad Sio