GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The foreign ministers of eight Arab and Muslim countries have called on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on the entry of essential supplies into the Gaza Strip, warning of a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
The appeal came in a joint statement signed by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
The ministers expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, which they said has been compounded by severe and unstable weather conditions, including heavy rainfall and storms, alongside the continued lack of adequate humanitarian access. They cited acute shortages of life-saving supplies and the slow pace of entry of materials needed to restore basic services and establish temporary shelter.
They stressed that harsh winter conditions have exposed the extreme fragility of the humanitarian situation, particularly for around 1.9 million displaced people living in inadequate shelters. Flooded camps, damaged tents, collapsing structures previously hit by Israeli attacks, freezing temperatures, and widespread malnutrition have sharply increased life-threatening risks, especially for children, women, the elderly, and people with serious medical conditions, including heightened danger of disease outbreaks.
The ministers praised the efforts of UN agencies, particularly UNRWA, as well as international humanitarian NGOs, for continuing to provide assistance under extremely difficult and complex conditions.
They called on Israel to ensure that the United Nations and international humanitarian organizations can operate in Gaza and the West Bank in a sustained, predictable, and unrestricted manner, stressing that any attempt to obstruct their work is unacceptable given their central role in the humanitarian response.
The statement reaffirmed full support for UN Security Council Resolution 2803 and for the comprehensive plan presented by US president Donald Trump, expressing readiness to contribute to their successful implementation in a way that ensures a lasting ceasefire, ends the war on Gaza, secures a dignified life for the Palestinian people, and opens a credible path toward Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
In this context, the ministers underscored the urgent need to immediately launch and expand early recovery efforts, including the provision of safe and dignified permanent shelter to protect civilians from harsh winter conditions.
They urged the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift all restrictions on the entry and distribution of essential supplies, among them tents, shelter materials, medical aid, clean water, fuel, and support for sanitation services.
The ministers also called for the immediate, full, and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza through the UN and its agencies, the rehabilitation of infrastructure and hospitals, and the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions, in line with the comprehensive plan put forward by president Trump.
