As the 161st session of the Arab League’s council opened in Cairo on Monday, the organisation demanded that immediate help be given to Gaza.
“It is urgent and there is no time to wait. The international community is obligated to deal with the famine that has started to ravage elders and children,” Mauritania’s permanent envoy to the Arab League and session chairman Hussein Sidi Abdellah Deh urged participants.
Due to the difficulty in coordinating with the Israeli military, the continuous fighting, and the breakdown of public order, aid agencies say it has become practically impossible to deliver humanitarian assistance in most of Gaza, with masses of desperate people overtaking aid convoys.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, according to the UN, are in dire need of food, with at least 25% of the population being on the edge of starvation.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar are attempting to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire and the release of certain captives, and there are mounting calls worldwide for another cease-fire. Around March 10, when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, mediators aim to come to a consensus. However, Israel and Hamas haven’t agreed on anything in public yet.
The Gaza Strip has now seen more than 30,400 deaths, according to the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.
