Gaza urges Arab summit to act against siege, stop Israeli genocide

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ANKARA

The Gaza government on Saturday issued an urgent call to Arab leaders attending the Arab League Summit in Baghdad, demanding immediate, practical steps to break Israel’s siege and halt its continuing war on the Palestinian enclave.

In a statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza urged heads of state to “assume their moral responsibilities and take concrete, courageous steps to lift the unjust blockade imposed on Gaza and halt the daily killings and mass atrocities carried out by Israel for more than 19 months.”

The appeal called for the “unconditional opening of all border crossings” and the guaranteed delivery of food, medical, and humanitarian aid into Gaza, where over 2 million people remain trapped under what the office described as an orchestrated policy of starvation.

“This is not a logistical failure, it is a calculated strategy of famine and deprivation,” the statement said.

The 34th Arab League Summit, held under the theme “Dialogue, Solidarity, and Development,” opened Saturday at the Republican Palace in Baghdad’s Green Zone. The summit has placed the Palestinian issue at the center of its agenda.

- Health system collapse imminent

The Al-Awda Health and Community Association in Gaza separately warned Saturday that it may be forced to shut down all medical and social services in the coming days due to the ongoing Israeli blockade, which has blocked medical supplies since March 2.

Director Raafat Al-Majdalawi said seven of the association’s nine ambulances were already out of service because of a complete fuel shortage.

“The services provided by our association are on the brink of total shutdown because no medical supplies have reached us in over 70 days,” Al-Majdalawi said in a statement. He added that existing services were already operating at minimal capacity due to the blockade.

The group called on international and Arab bodies to deliver urgent medical supplies and fuel. It also emphasized the legal protection of health facilities under international law, stressing that hospitals must be safeguarded during armed conflict.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Israel has escalated its attacks on hospitals in recent days, including strikes on the European Hospital in southern Gaza, which has since gone out of service.

Israel launched its war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 53,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its military campaign against the enclave.