US, Israeli, UAE officials meet to discuss post-war plans for Gaza

By Bekir Aydogan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Officials from the US, Israel and the United Arab Emirates held a meeting to discuss plans for Gaza after the war ends, local media reported on Tuesday.

The meeting was held in Abu Dhabi last Thursday, said the Axios news, citing two Israeli officials.

The meeting, which was hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was attended by White House National Security Council Middle East and North Africa adviser Brett McGurk and Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

Two senior Israeli defense officials who have been working on Israel's proposals for day-after plans for Gaza also traveled with Dermer to Abu Dhabi, the officials said.

After 3-day talks in the Chinese capital Beijing, Palestinian groups announced that all forces under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization were "about to reach" an agreement on achieving "comprehensive national unity" and establishing an interim consensus government.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar