Arab League Warns against Israeli Invasion of Rafah, Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza

Banners celebrating the advent of Ramadan are seen at a shelter in Rafah. (AP)
Banners celebrating the advent of Ramadan are seen at a shelter in Rafah. (AP)
TT
20

Arab League Warns against Israeli Invasion of Rafah, Calls for Ceasefire in Gaza

Banners celebrating the advent of Ramadan are seen at a shelter in Rafah. (AP)
Banners celebrating the advent of Ramadan are seen at a shelter in Rafah. (AP)

The Arab League Council warned on Wednesday of the catastrophic consequences of “Israeli aggressive threats to invade and destroy the Palestinian city of Rafah, which is housing more than 1.5 million displaced citizens.”

During an extraordinary meeting in Cairo to discuss the war on Gaza, the council condemned the flow of weapons to Israel and Israel’s “continued genocide against the Palestinians.”

In a statement, the council denounced Israel’s refusal to comply with United Nations Security Council resolution 2728, which demands an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, and an end to the Israeli crimes in the West Bank aimed at the systematic destruction of refugee camps.

The council emphasized “the necessity of implementing the decision of the Joint Arab Islamic Summit in Riyadh to break the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip, to allow the immediate access of Arab, Islamic, and international humanitarian aid convoys by land, sea, and air into the entire Strip, and to call on relevant international organizations to participate in breaking the siege.”

It expressed support for the Qatari-Egyptian effort to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, praising Algeria’s efforts at the Security Council and other international moves aimed at resolving the conflict in the region, as well as the growing demands by the European Union countries to recognize the State of Palestine.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit underlined “the need to continue diplomatic work in order to stop the war in Gaza and ensure that Israel is held accountable for its crimes.”

He also called for maintaining “the struggle in all diplomatic arenas and global forums in the hopes of establishing an independent Palestine.”

Permanent Representative of Palestine to the League of Arab States Mohannad Al-Aklouk underlined his country’s support for Arab and international efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in the region according to international resolutions, and for the State of Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations.

He urged Arab countries, parliaments, civil society organizations, trade unions and federations concerned with human rights and international law to take urgent action before international judiciary to prosecute Israeli officials for their brutal crimes against Palestinian civilians, children and women.



UN Chief ‘Deeply Alarmed’ by Israeli Strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza 

A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

UN Chief ‘Deeply Alarmed’ by Israeli Strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza 

A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A Palestinian boy inspects the damage after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, shortly after patients were evacuated following a call from someone who identified himself with Israeli security, in Gaza City, April 13, 2025. (Reuters)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "deeply alarmed" at Sunday's strike by Israeli forces on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"Under international humanitarian law, wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected," the UN chief's spokesperson said.

He said the attack dealt "a severe blow to an already devastated healthcare system in the Strip", adding there was strong concern that medical supplies are running low as well as food and water.

Two Israeli missiles hit the major Gaza hospital on Sunday, putting the emergency department out of action and damaging other structures, medics said, in a strike that Israel said was aimed at Hamas fighters exploiting the facility.

Health officials at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital evacuated patients after a phone call from someone who identified himself as Israeli security shortly before the attack.

No new humanitarian supplies have entered the Palestinian enclave since Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks on March 2, as talks stalled on the next stage of a now broken truce. Israel resumed its military assault on March 18.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 25,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza in the 42 days of the ceasefire and that Hamas had used the aid to rebuild its war machine, an allegation which the group has denied.