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Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee Calls for Immediate Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

The meeting, held Sunday in Cairo, included Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Foreign Ministry of Egypt) 
The meeting, held Sunday in Cairo, included Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Foreign Ministry of Egypt) 
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Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee Calls for Immediate Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

The meeting, held Sunday in Cairo, included Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Foreign Ministry of Egypt) 
The meeting, held Sunday in Cairo, included Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (Foreign Ministry of Egypt) 

The Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee, in a high-level meeting with European representatives, urged the immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and the swift implementation of a truce. The committee also rejected any forced displacement of Palestinians and called on the international community to mobilize resources for a Gaza reconstruction conference.

The meeting, held Sunday in Cairo, included Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Discussions focused on the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the escalating violence in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the committee expressed deep concern over the breakdown of the ceasefire, citing the heavy civilian toll resulting from recent airstrikes. The participants strongly condemned the resumption of hostilities and attacks on civilians and infrastructure, urging an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States on January 19.

The statement also stressed the importance of advancing to the second phase of the agreement, which includes the release of all hostages, a permanent cessation of violence, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2735.

The committee underscored the urgent need for compliance with international humanitarian law and called for unimpeded humanitarian aid access to Gaza. It urged the immediate lifting of all restrictions hindering aid delivery and the rapid restoration of essential services, including electricity and water desalination.

Participants welcomed the Arab recovery and reconstruction plan presented at the Cairo Summit on March 4, which was subsequently endorsed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and acknowledged by the European Council.

The committee emphasized the necessity of unifying Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority (PA) and supporting the PA’s ability to govern effectively. It reiterated the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of the Palestinian territories and reaffirmed that Gaza is an inseparable part of the occupied land, forming the foundation of a future Palestinian state.

The meeting also addressed Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank, condemning incursions, illegal settlement expansion, home demolitions, and settler violence. These actions, participants warned, not only violate Palestinian rights but also jeopardize the prospects for a sustainable peace and further deepen the conflict.

The committee insisted that Israel, as the occupying power, must fulfill its legal obligations to protect civilians and adhere to international humanitarian law. It also firmly rejected any attempts to annex Palestinian land or alter the historical and legal status of Jerusalem’s holy sites.

Reaffirming their commitment to a diplomatic resolution, the committee stressed the need for a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine coexist peacefully within secure borders. The statement referenced UN resolutions, the Madrid Peace Process, the land-for-peace principle, and the Arab Peace Initiative as key frameworks for achieving lasting peace in the region.

As part of these efforts, the committee reiterated its commitment to holding a high-level international conference under UN auspices in June in New York. The conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aims to push forward a comprehensive political resolution to the conflict.

 

 

 

 

 

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.