Who's Who in the Saudi G20

Who's Who in the Saudi G20
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Who's Who in the Saudi G20

Who's Who in the Saudi G20

The G20 Leaders’ Summit kicked off Saturday, bringing together leaders from the world’s leading economies to address global pressing issues.

The G20 Saudi Presidency has demonstrated determined and effective leadership in not only gathering the world leaders but also taking collective action that benefits the world.

The Saudi Presidency is led by His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as the Head of State, with the agenda and direction of the presidency held under his direction, supported by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. Dr. Fahad Toonsi is the Secretary-General for the G20 Saudi Secretariat, tasked with the responsibility of overseeing and supporting the implementation of the G20 Presidency work this year.

The Sherpa Track is led by Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak, who has been the G20 Saudi Sherpa since 2018. Under this track, ministers of the Kingdom chaired ministerial meetings related to socio-economic issues. The ministers include His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud, who chaired the Energy Ministerial Meeting, Dr. Tawfiq Al Rabiah for Health, Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi, and Eng. Khaled AlFalih, who led the Trade & Investment Ministers Meeting. The Environment, Agriculture, and Water Ministers Meetings were chaired by Eng. Abdulrahman AlFadley, while Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha chaired the Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting. Dr. Hamad Alshaikh chaired the education ministerial meeting and Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi chaired the one on labor and employment. Ahmad Al-Khatib chaired the meeting for Tourism Ministers, and Mazin Al-Kahmous led the discussions on the first-ever Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meeting under the G20. Her Highness Princess Haifa AlMogrin chaired the Development Working Group.

The Finance Track is led by Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance, and Dr. Ahmed Alkholifey, the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. With their leadership, the working groups for the finance track focused on economic response to global pandemic including debt relief for developing nations, infrastructure, financial inclusion, economic growth, international financial architecture, and the global economy.



Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Amnesty International Says Israel and Aid System Use Starvation to Commit Gaza Genocide

Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Palestinians queue for a hot meal at a charity kitchen at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Amnesty International issued a report Thursday claiming a controversial Israeli- and US-backed system to distribute aid in Gaza uses starvation tactics against Palestinians to continue to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip during Israel's war with Hamas.

The UK-based human rights group condemned Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which the US and Israel have backed to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the Amnesty report, saying the organization has “joined forces with Hamas and fully adopted all of its propaganda lies.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 500 Palestinians have been killed at or near GHF distribution centers over the past month. The centers are guarded by private security contractors and located near Israeli military positions. Palestinian officials and witnesses have accused Israeli forces of opening fire at crowds of people moving near the sites.

The Amnesty report said Israel has “turned aid-seeking into a booby trap for desperate starved Palestinians” through GHF's militarized hubs. The conditions have created "a deadly mix of hunger and disease pushing the population past breaking point.”

“This devastating daily loss of life as desperate Palestinians try to collect aid is the consequence of their deliberate targeting by Israeli forces and the foreseeable consequence of irresponsible and lethal methods of distribution,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

Israel rejects claims

The Israeli army says it has fired warning shots to control crowds and only fires at people it says are acting suspiciously.

The Foreign Ministry and COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Israel has facilitated the entry of over 3,000 aid trucks into the Gaza Strip since May 19 and GHF has delivered boxes of food with the equivalent of 56 million meals.

Humanitarian organizations say that amount is not nearly enough to meet overwhelming need in Gaza. GHF did not immediately return requests for comment.

The World Food Program says despite the new Israel-backed initiative, food consumption reached a critical low last month, with food diversity reaching its worst level since the conflict began.

“The continued closure of crossings, intensified violence since March, soaring food prices, and extremely limited humanitarian and commercial supplies have severely restricted access to even basic food items,” the WFP said in a June report.

GHF hubs are close to Israeli military positions

Amnesty’s report follows a statement earlier this week from more than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organizations calling for an immediate end to the foundation. They say the new mechanism allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates humanitarian principles and is ineffective.

It’s the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of President Donald Trump. Last month, the US government pledged $30 million for the group to continue operation, the first known US donation to the group, whose other funding sources remain opaque.

GHF started distributing aid May 26 following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that pushed Gaza’s population of more than 2 million to the brink of famine.

Palestinian witnesses have described scenes of chaos around the distribution sites, and two contractors in the operation have told The Associated Press that colleagues fired live ammunition and stun grenades toward crowds of people. Palestinians often must travel long distances to reach the sites.

In a statement Tuesday, GHF rejected criticism of its operations and claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians.

“Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza,” GHF said.

GHF has called for Israel’s military to investigate the allegations from Gaza’s Health Ministry, but last month the organization said there has been no violence in or around its centers and its personnel have not opened fire.

Israel demanded the alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The UN and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.

Amnesty's allegations of genocide Amnesty accused Israel last year of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice and has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza.