Arab countries have called for the immediate cessation of Israel’s "genocidal war" in Palestine’s Gaza, which is nearing its second year.
Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, delivered a statement on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council during an open session of the UN Security Council on the Middle East.
Sabah said the meeting was taking place amid one of the darkest chapters of the Gaza tragedy, pointing to destruction, a blockade and the loss of more than 64,000 civilians, the majority women and children.
Calling the situation in Gaza "a living example of genocide and ethnic cleansing, a gaping wound that cannot be ignored," he urged the Council to act by ending the aggression, ensuring humanitarian access, and backing words with practical measures to protect civilians.
Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN, Osama Abdelkhalek, said Cairo has consistently avoided escalation despite provocations from Israel, stressing the urgent need for a ceasefire.
He criticised what he called Israel’s "stubborn insistence" on continuing the war, saying the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end.
Palestine’s UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said: "Palestinians are not subhuman. We deserve life, freedom, and dignity. The atrocities committed by Israel against our people in Gaza cannot be justified under any circumstance."
Mansour added: "No genocide, no theft, no forced displacement, no colonisation, no annexation, no occupation — save Gaza. Save Palestine. Save peace."
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the Council: "What is happening in Gaza is unprecedented in its brutality and savagery.
But the goals are clear: to destroy Palestinian society and render the entire territory uninhabitable, forcing the population to flee."
He warned that accepting such a plan would undermine the Security Council’s legitimacy.
"What is happening in Gaza will not stay in Gaza," he said, urging immediate and practical action.
"The time has come for the Council to make the right decision. Let’s end the war today, not tomorrow, and begin rebuilding Gaza and restoring childhood to its children," Aboul Gheit added.
