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Cairo Ministerial Conference Aims to Boost Humanitarian Response in Gaza

Dignitaries pose for a family photo at the “Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza” on Monday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Dignitaries pose for a family photo at the “Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza” on Monday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Cairo Ministerial Conference Aims to Boost Humanitarian Response in Gaza

Dignitaries pose for a family photo at the “Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza” on Monday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Dignitaries pose for a family photo at the “Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza” on Monday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt hosted on Monday the “Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza” aimed at securing clear commitments to provide aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The conference was organized by Egypt and the United Nations and attended by delegations from 103 countries and organizations.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the event also seeks to bolster international aid and ensure sustainable response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It also aims to plan the early recovery in the enclave.

Palestinian political analyst and Fatah member Dr. Ayman al-Raqab underscored to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of providing relief aid at this time.

The conference delivered a strong message that there can be no substitute to UNRWA, he added, predicting that financial pledges will meet Gaza’s needs.

Speaking at the conference, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty condemned the ongoing and “unprecedented” Israeli assault on Gaza.

“Israel has been committing atrocities for the whole world to see for over a year,” he added, saying it has used “starvation, siege tactics and displacement as collective punishment against the Palestinians in flagrant violation of international laws.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi urged immediate action to aid the people of Gaza. “All forms of pressure are needed to allow the delivery of aid in the enclave,” he stressed.

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed said the disaster in Gaza is a “test to humanity” and it must end immediately.

Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini warned that the “international humanitarian response in Gaza is today being severely tested.”

The gatherers at the conferences underlined UNRWA’s role in providing aid to the Palestinians and condemned the Israeli Knesset’s recent legislation to end its operations.

Abdelatty stressed that Egypt condemns the “illegal” move, saying it was a “dangerous precedent to ban a UN agency”.

It reflects a dismissal of the international community and its institutions, he remarked, adding that there can be no substitute to UNRWA in Gaza and no other organization can replace it or carry out its work.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa echoed these remarks, saying UNRWA has a pivotal role to play after the war on Gaza is over.

He called for rejecting all Israeli legislations that target the organization.

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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
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Israel Sees More to Do on Lebanon Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A car drives past damaged buildings in Naqoura, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Hankir/File Photo

Israel said on Thursday the terms of a ceasefire with Hezbollah were not being implemented fast enough and there was more work to do, while the Iran-backed group urged pressure to ensure Israeli troops leave south Lebanon by Monday as set out in the deal.

The deal stipulates that Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon, Hezbollah remove fighters and weapons from the area and Lebanese troops deploy there - all within a 60-day timeframe which will conclude on Monday at 4 a.m (0200 GMT).

The deal, brokered by the United States and France, ended more than a year of hostilities triggered by the Gaza war. The fighting peaked with a major Israeli offensive that displaced more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon and left Hezbollah severely weakened.

"There have been positive movements where the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have taken the place of Hezbollah forces, as stipulated in the agreement," Israeli government spokesmen David Mencer told reporters, referring to UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

"We've also made clear that these movements have not been fast enough, and there is much more work to do," he said, affirming that Israel wanted the agreement to continue.

Mencer did not directly respond to questions about whether Israel had requested an extension of the deal or say whether Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon after Monday's deadline.

Hezbollah said in a statement that there had been leaks talking about Israel postponing its withdrawal beyond the 60-day period, and that any breach of the agreement would be unacceptable.
The statement said that possibility required everyone, especially Lebanese political powers, to pile pressure on the states which sponsored the deal to ensure "the implementation of the full (Israeli) withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the last inch of Lebanese territory and the return of the people to their villages quickly.”

Any delay beyond the 60 days would mark a blatant violation of the deal with which the Lebanese state would have to deal "through all means and methods guaranteed by international charters" to recover Lebanese land "from the occupation's clutches," Hezbollah said.