General Secretariat – Riyadh
During the GCC-ASEAN Summit on 20 October 2023, the Leaders exchanged views and expressed grave concerns over the developments in the Middle East and agreed on the following:
1. Condemn all attacks against civilians and call for a durable ceasefire and for all concerned parties to ensure the most effective and efficient access for humanitarian aid, and relief supplies and other basic necessities and essential services, as well as the restoration of electricity, water, and allow the unhindered delivery of fuel, food, and medicine throughout Gaza.
2. Call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, refrain from targeting them and to abide by international humanitarian law, particularly the principles and provisions of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949.
3. Call for the immediate and unconditional release of civilian hostages and detainees, especially women, children, the sick and the elderly.
4. Urge all parties concerned to work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict with a view to realising the two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders in accordance with international law and the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.
5. Support the initiative of Saudi Arabia, the European Union and the League of Arab States to revive the Middle East peace process in cooperation with Egypt and Jordan, and resolve the dispute between Israel and its neighbours in accordance with international law and all UN resolutions on this conflict.
Israeli occupation authorities confirmed the arrest of Hamas spokesman Hassan Yousef in the West Bank.
Yousef was arrested “on suspicion of acting on behalf of Hamas,” Israel said on Friday.
Yousef is a leading Palestinian political figure, serving as the official Hamas spokesperson in the West Bank and holding a seat on the Palestinian Legislative Council.
He has been arrested by Israeli forces on several occasions and has spent a total of 24 years in Israeli occupation jails on various charges.
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The toll of Palestininas killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip rised to 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
Hundreds of additional Palestinians are believed to be trapped under the rubble.
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Gaza is estimated at about one million, including over 527,500 people staying in 147 UNRWA-designated emergency shelters in increasingly dire conditions.
At least 30 per cent of all housing units in the Gaza Strip have been either destroyed (12,845), rendered uninhabitable (9,055) or moderately/lightly damaged (121,000), since the start of the hostilities, according to the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.
The complete siege of Gaza continues. The Rafah, Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings remained closed, preventing the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicines and fuel.
