The international community must exert pressure to end the bloodshed in Gaza and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into “all areas in need,” heads of state and government said in a joint statement at the Arab League summit in Baghdad on Saturday.
The annual summit was attended by a slew of Arab leaders, including Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres—a declared persona non grata in Israel. Spain was the only European country present at the summit.
“This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,” Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, according to AP.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi noted that even if ties between Israel and additional Arab countries are normalized, “a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.”
He added that Cairo, in collaboration with Doha and Washington, is “exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza, efforts that led to the release last week of Israeli-American hostage Idan Alexander.
Al-Sissi went on to say that “once the aggression stops,” Egypt plans to lead international initiatives for the reconstruction of Gaza, AP reported.
Abbas denounced Israel’s “genocidal crimes,” which he claimed were a part of a “colonialist project that undermines the project of an independent Palestinian state.”
According to AP, he further called on Hamas to lay down arms and abandon its rule over Gaza.
Guterres told the audience, “We need a permanent ceasefire, now. The unconditional release of all hostages, now. And the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade, now.”
He warned that “the longer the fighting goes on, the greater the risk that the situation spirals out of control in the West Bank and across the region.
“We are at a breaking point. The eyes of the world—and the eyes of history—are watching. It is time to act,” Guterres said.
He criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to voluntarily relocate Gazans abroad, stating, “We reject the repeated displacement of the Gaza population, along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza.”
Summarizing the 34th Arab summit, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani conveyed his hope via X that it “will be reflected in strengthening the Arab solidarity and consolidating integration between Arab countries in all areas of existing cooperation.”