The Head of the Arab League Slams Israel's Occupation of a Syrian Buffer Zone

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
TT
20

The Head of the Arab League Slams Israel's Occupation of a Syrian Buffer Zone

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab League's foreign ministers meeting in Cairo, Egypt April 21, 2019. Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The head of the Arab League is warning against Israel’s “expansionist greed” in Syria and the exploitation of the current “delicate moment” following the ouster of Syria's President Bashar Assad.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to remain committed to the 1974 Israel-Syria truce following the 1973 Mideast war. The truce established a UN-patrolled demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries.

After Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8, Israeli forces occupied the buffer zone inside Syria, calling it a temporary move to block hostile forces.

Aboul Gheit emphasized that “the occupation of the Golan is illegal and unjustified except by the expansionist desires of Israel.”

The Arab League secretary-general said the 22-member organization supports the Syrian people’s aspirations “for a better life after long suffering at the hands of the previous regime.”

“We hope that Syria will undergo a successful transition that will pave the way to an end of the crisis without any foreign intervention, while preserving the Syrian unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.



Aid to Gaza 'Facing Total Collapse', Warn 12 NGOs

 A Palestinian boy looks through a hole in the wall into a damaged room after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 17, 2025. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy looks through a hole in the wall into a damaged room after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 17, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Aid to Gaza 'Facing Total Collapse', Warn 12 NGOs

 A Palestinian boy looks through a hole in the wall into a damaged room after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 17, 2025. (AFP)
A Palestinian boy looks through a hole in the wall into a damaged room after an Israeli strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on April 17, 2025. (AFP)

The humanitarian aid system in Gaza is "facing total collapse" because of Israel's blockade on aid supplies since March 2, the heads of 12 major aid organizations warned Thursday, urging Israel to let them "do our jobs".

Israel has vowed to maintain its blockage on humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged territory, saying it is the only way to force Hamas to release the 58 hostages still held there.

"Every single person in Gaza is relying on humanitarian aid to survive," the chief executives of 12 NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, wrote in a joint statement.

"That lifeline has been completely cut off since a blockade on all aid supplies was imposed by Israeli authorities on March 2," they said, adding that "This is one of the worst humanitarian failures of our generation."

A survey of 43 international and Palestinian aid organizations working in Gaza found that almost all have suspended or drastically cut services since a ceasefire ended on March 18, "with widespread and indiscriminate bombing making it extremely dangerous to move around", the NGOs said.

"Famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts of Gaza," they said. "Survival itself is now slipping out of reach and the humanitarian system is at breaking point."

"We call on all parties to guarantee the safety of our staff and to allow the safe, unfettered access of aid into and across Gaza through all entry points, and for world leaders to oppose further restrictions."

Israel's renewed assault has killed at least 1,691 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, bringing the overall toll since the war erupted to 51,065, most of them civilians.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.