UAE president, head of European Council discuss Gaza cease-fire efforts

By Iyad Nabolsi

ISTANBUL (AA) - United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and European Council President Charles Michel discussed efforts to halt Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip in a phone call Tuesday, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The two men reviewed the latest developments in the Middle East and the initiatives being undertaken to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the report said.

Al Nahyan emphasized “the importance of de-escalation and concerted international action to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution which would ensure the region's security and stability,” it added.

He also reiterated the UAE's “commitment to working with all parties, including the EU, to enhance the response to the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and to ensure the delivery of sufficient and sustainable aid to its residents.”

Al Nahyan stressed that “preserving civilian lives was vital, as was intensifying efforts to achieve an immediate cease-fire in Gaza to prevent the conflict from expanding further in the region.”

Michel affirmed “the EU's commitment to continuing its cooperation with the UAE to strengthen humanitarian efforts in the region,” the report said.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

More than 35,600 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and nearly 79,900 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

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

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio