QNA
Cairo
The State of Qatar participated in the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza, which was held on Monday, under the title “A Year after the Humanitarian Disaster in Gaza: Urgent Needs and Permanent Solutions.”
Qatar’s delegation to the conference was headed by Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
In her speech before the conference, Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Mariam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad reiterated Qatar’s firm position in supporting efforts aimed at delivering humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip.
She noted that the State of Qatar has worked over the past period, in coordination with the relevant United Nations agencies, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to implement many humanitarian initiatives to deliver aid to the Palestinian people, despite the great and increasing challenges facing the international relief and humanitarian effort.
She said, “After more than a year has passed since the brutal war on the Gaza Strip and the continued suffering of the Palestinian people in the Strip, and despite the persistent and tireless mediation efforts undertaken by the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels of deterioration of living conditions, leading to a severe shortage of food, medicine and basic life necessities.”
She added: “The suffering of the people of Gaza continues to worsen as the aggression continues to destroy residential neighborhoods, health and educational facilities, infrastructure, and shelters for the displaced.”
She stressed that this tragic situation calls for urgent action to open humanitarian corridors without restrictions or conditions, and to expedite the entry of relief supplies to avoid the loss of more lives, especially among children, the sick and the elderly.
Al Misnad pointed out that the State of Qatar has recently launched an air bridge to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, based on its firm and principled commitment to support the Palestinian brothers, and in accordance with the directives of His Highness the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
In this regard, she stated that about 100 Qatari planes carried urgent relief aid, including food and medicine, to the Gaza Strip, and returned carrying a number of orphaned, sick and wounded children to complete their treatment in Doha, after the State of Qatar undertook to treat 1,500 wounded people and sponsor 3,000 orphans from the Strip.
She also referred to the State of Qatar’s announcement last September of a pledge of $100 million to be allocated to the humanitarian response in Palestine, in addition to a previous pledge of $50 million, in addition to the State of Qatar’s continued support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the provision of about $4.5 million in cash assistance to workers and patients in the Gaza Strip currently stranded in the occupied West Bank.
Al Misnad reiterated the State of Qatar’s emphasis on the importance of supporting the mandate granted to the Agency in accordance with General Assembly Resolution No. 302, and stressed the right of Palestinian refugees to return, which is guaranteed by General Assembly Resolution No. 194 and Security Council Resolution No. 237. She urged all countries to enhance their support for UNRWA to face the increasing challenges.
She considered that stopping the Palestinian bloodshed begins with a ceasefire, and added, “From here, the State of Qatar calls on the international community to move quickly and seriously to oblige all parties to abide by the relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolution No. 2728 and Resolution No. 2735, which call for a complete and immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and to begin the entry of urgent humanitarian aid.”
She stressed that ending the suffering of the Palestinian people begins with achieving international and humanitarian justice. In this context, she reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace based on ending the occupation and recognizing Palestinian rights in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, foremost of which is the Palestinian right to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
