Doha, Qatar – Arab foreign ministers met in Qatar on Wednesday with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss reconstruction for Gaza, devastated by war with Israel, the Gulf state said.
On Saturday, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) formally adopted a plan put forward by the Arab League at an emergency meeting in Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian-spearheaded plan emerged as a proposal to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority in response to a proposal by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza and displace its residents.
The plan by Muslim-majority nations has been rejected by both Israel and its key ally the United States, but has been endorsed by Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
A fresh round of talks on a fragile ceasefire in Gaza also began in Qatar on Tuesday, with Witkoff dispatched to Doha for the mediations.
“The ministers emphasized the importance of maintaining the ceasefire in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories, stressing the need to launch a genuine effort to achieve a just and comprehensive peace,” the Qatari statement added.
The 42-day first phase of the truce deal expired in early March without agreement on subsequent stages meant to secure a lasting end to the war, which erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Israel has also sent a team of negotiators to the Doha talks aimed at extending the ceasefire.
UN warns aid stocks running out in Gaza
The United Nations warned Wednesday that supplies of aid are at risk of running out in Gaza as Israel blocks deliveries to put pressure on Hamas.
“Eleven days is already 11 days too long to prevent aid reaching civilians who so badly need it,” said Fletcher.
“The supplies are clearly running out very, very fast,” he said, forcing the UN to ration stocks to make them last longer.
“The fact that we’re not getting fuel in means that incubators are being switched off,” said Fletcher, adding that Gaza will quickly become a huamnitarian crisis again.
Fletcher said he visited Gaza last month and while he tried to prepare himself, things were much worse than he had anticipated.
He said one of his biggest shocks was seeing dogs fattened from eating corpses as they sniffed through the rubble of Gaza.
“And you notice that the people are thin, and then you see that for miles and miles and miles. And I don’t think anything can prepare you for that,” said Fletcher.
Hamas praises Yemen’s Huthis
Hamas praised Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels Wednesday after they announced they would resume attacks on Israeli-linked shipping, calling it a demonstration of “true commitment” to the Palestinian cause.
Israel blocked all aid into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip earlier this month in an effort to pressure Hamas into agreeing an extension to the existing ceasefire in Gaza rather than moving onto a second stage.
Israel piled on more pressure on Sunday, announcing it would cut off the supply of electricity to a water desalination plant in Gaza.
However, Hamas said on Tuesday that a new round of ceasefire talks had begun in Qatar.
During the Gaza war, the Huthis launched dozens of drone and missile attacks on Israeli-linked shipping that drew retaliatory air strikes by the United States and Britain.
The Huthis halted their attacks when the Gaza ceasefire took effect in January but said on Tuesday that they would resume them until Israel allows aid deliveries back into Gaza.
Hamas welcomed the statement, saying it “reflects the genuine stance of the Yemeni people”.
“We call on the nations of the Arab and Muslim world, as well as all free people around the globe, to intensify their effective actions to pressure the Zionist occupation and its supporters until the aggression ends, the siege on Gaza is lifted and humanitarian aid reaches our besieged people,” Hamas said.
