ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates have issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
In this regard, the ministers said the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has been further aggravated by severe weather conditions, including continuous rainfall and storms.
They noted that inadequate humanitarian assistance, acute shortages of basic necessities, and delays in the delivery of materials required for restoring essential services have significantly worsened the situation on the ground.
In this sense, the foreign ministers highlighted that harsh weather conditions have exposed the fragile living conditions of Gaza’s population, where nearly 1.9 million displaced people are forced to live in inadequate temporary shelters.
Meanwhile, the ministers commended the efforts of United Nations agencies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as international humanitarian organizations that continue to deliver aid to the Palestinian people despite extremely challenging circumstances.
In such a scenario, they called on Israel to allow United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations to operate in Gaza and the West Bank without obstruction, ensuring safe, sustained, and unhindered access.
The statement stressed that the role of these organizations in humanitarian operations is indispensable and that any attempt to restrict their work is unacceptable.
However, the foreign ministers said they would continue to play their part in ensuring the effective implementation of these frameworks.
They focused on the fact that the importance of maintaining a ceasefire, ending the war in Gaza, ensuring a dignified life for the Palestinian people, and creating a credible pathway toward Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
The statement also underlined the urgent need to initiate and expand early recovery measures, including the provision of sustainable and dignified shelters to protect displaced families from severe winter conditions.
The foreign ministers urged the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities and to exert pressure on Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift all restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential items into Gaza.
These include tents, shelter materials, medical supplies, clean water, fuel, and sanitation facilities.
