FM warns of worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza  in calls with counterparts

AMMAN — Gaza's children, elderly and women deserve immediate action from the international community to protect them and secure their food, medicine and humanitarian needs, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi stressed on Thursday.

Safadi reiterated that Gazans' suffering has been deepening as a result of the dangerous escalation since the beginning of the week and the raging Israeli war on the strip, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The minister, in phone calls with several counterparts, stressed that the immediate delivery of food, water, fuel and electricity in Gaza is both a moral and legal responsibility of the international community as a whole, and denying these basic requirements constitutes a clear breach of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.

He added that UNRWA, whose schools have become shelters for Gazans fleeing the war, is exerting unprecedented efforts to assist civilians. However it lacks the capabilities and funding to fulfil its duty, which necessitates the immediate support that the agency needs from the international community.

Safadi added that rejecting war and violence against civilians in all their forms and condemning them has always been an unaltered position of Jordan, which has always strived for peace, stability and resorting to dialogue.

The minister also warned against any attempt to displace Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and to spread the crisis to neighbouring countries, stressing that all Arab countries have confirmed that they will collectively respond to any attempt to displace Palestinians from their country during Wednesday's extraordinary ministerial meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League. 

He said that Arab countries warn against any attempts to exacerbate the issue of refugees, whose right to return and compensation must be met within the framework of a comprehensive solution to the conflict that encompasses all final status issues, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Safadi warned of the seriousness of the continuing deterioration of the situation, the expansion of the areas of violence and war, and their “catastrophic impact” on the region as a whole and on regional and international peace and security.

The minister's telephone discussions included High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt, and Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

He also held talks over the phone with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia Prince  Faisal bin Farhan, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Morocco's Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.