Escalating atrocities in Gaza present an urgent moral crossroads and the countries must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The Israeli aggression has transformed Gaza into a landscape of desolation, where nearly half of the casualties are children and thousands remain displaced. Since March 2025, coinciding with the end of the ceasefire, Israel has reinstated an even harsher blockade on Gaza, effectively trapping its population in misery, hunger, and disease.
In this context, Arab leaders urged the international community to fund their plan to rebuild the Gaza at 34th Arab Summit held on Saturday in Baghdad. The Arab plan for Gaza proposes rebuilding the Palestinian enclave without displacing its 2.4 million residents.
The summit said in its final statement that it urged countries and international and regional financial institutions to provide prompt financial support to back its Gaza reconstruction plan.
Iraq’s Prime Minister H E Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said in his speech at the summit, which was dominated by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, that the genocide in Gaza has reached a level of ugliness unparalleled in all conflicts in history.
Al-Sudani said that Iraq backed the creation of an Arab fund to support reconstruction efforts, adding that Iraq will contribute $20m towards the fund and another $20m for Lebanon, which has also been in conflict with Israel.
United Nations chief H E Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister H E Pedro Sanchez were guests at the summit. Sanchez said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end immediately and without delay and that Palestine and Spain are working on a new draft to be presented to the United Nations, where they are demanding Israel to end the unjust humanitarian siege laid to Gaza and to allow for the unconditional delivery of relief aid into Gaza.
Besides Gaza, Arab officials also discussed Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter in its history after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Al-Assad.
Meanwhile, Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in a post on the X platform, expressing hope that the outcomes and decisions of the summit will be reflected in strengthening the Arab solidarity and enhanced cooperation. President of Iraq H E Abdul Latif Rashid lauded Qatar and especially H H the Amir for resolving conflicts through dialogue regionally and internationally.
