UPDATE - Saudi Arabia hosts meeting of Arab foreign ministers on Gaza

ADDS SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Abdusalam Fayez

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of Arab foreign ministers Thursday to consult on developments in the Gaza Strip, which is under a devastating Israeli war that has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

“Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan received Arab ministers participating in the consultative ministerial meeting on events in Gaza," the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on X, without providing further details.

The ministry shared images of bin Farhan receiving his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and United Arab Emirates counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in addition to the Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein al-Sheikh.

It did not specify the timeframe for the start or end of the meeting, which came amid talks sponsored by Egypt, Qatar and the US to reach a deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas for a prisoner swap and cease-fire in Gaza.

Later, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X that “their Highnesses and Excellencies the Ministers emphasized the necessity of ending the war on the Gaza Strip and achieving an immediate and complete cease-fire, ensuring the protection of civilians according to international humanitarian law.”

The top diplomats further called for the “lifting of all restrictions hindering the entry of humanitarian aid into the region and expressed their support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, urging all its supporters to fulfill their humanitarian responsibilities towards Palestinian refugees.”

“They also emphasized the importance of taking irreversible steps to implement the two-state solution and recognize the state of Palestine along the lines of the June 4, 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, in accordance with relevant international resolutions,” added the statement.

The ministry also noted that “they affirmed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory and expressed their unequivocal rejection of all forced displacement.”

Earlier in the day, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Safadi would participate in the Arab ministerial consultative meeting hosted by bin Farhan to discuss developments in the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas in October, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 27,840 Palestinians have since been killed and 67,317 injured in the ensuing Israeli onslaught, according to local health authorities.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli offensive, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN.

Hundreds of thousands of residents are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala