Latest news with #humanitarianRelief
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan calls for enhancing aid, educational assistance for Palestinians
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday stressed the need to enhance humanitarian relief and educational assistance for Palestinians bearing the brunt of Israel's military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement. The Palestinian death toll from the 20-month Israel-Hamas war has passed 55,000, the Gaza Health Ministry said this week. Israeli forces have destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced about 90 percent of its population and in recent weeks have transformed more than half of the coastal territory into a military buffer zone that includes the now mostly uninhabited southern city of Rafah. Pakistan has dispatched several aid consignments for the people of Palestine since last year and also granted scholarships and admissions to hundreds of Palestinian students in Pakistani universities since the war began in 2023. 'Reaffirming Pakistan's unwavering moral, political, and diplomatic support for the Palestinian cause, the DPM/FM emphasized the need to enhance the provision of humanitarian relief to the Palestinian people as well as to extend educational assistance to the Palestinian students,' the foreign office said. The statement was issued after Dar chaired a meeting to review the status of the ongoing assistance provided by Pakistan to the people of Palestine. 'The DPM/FM expressed deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza & West Bank, resulting from Israel's blatant violations of human rights,' the statement said. The war between the two sides began when Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in Israel and abducted 251 hostages. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight and recovered the remains of dozens more. Israel's military campaign, one of the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, has transformed large parts of cities into mounds of rubble. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in squalid tent camps and unused schools, and the health system has been gutted, even as it copes with waves of wounded from Israeli strikes.
Arab News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UN chief welcomes release of US Israeli hostage by Hamas
NEW YORK CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the release of Edan Alexander, a US Israeli dual national who was taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The militant group said on Sunday it would release Alexander, 21, as part of efforts to reach a ceasefire with Israel. Alexander was believed to be the last living US hostage held in Gaza. Guterres 'is profoundly relieved that Mr. Alexander has been freed and is now returning to his family and loved ones after this harrowing ordeal,' the secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said on Monday. 'The secretary-general renews his urgent call for an immediate permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages. Hostages must be treated humanely and with dignity,' he added. Alexander's parents, who live in the US, traveled to Israel for the handover, and said they were grateful to the administration of US President Donald Trump for securing their son's release. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that Hamas had agreed to release Alexander as a gesture of goodwill to the president, who is making a high-profile visit to Saudi Arabia this week. Alexander, an Israeli soldier who grew up in New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In his statement, Guterres called on all parties to 'immediately ensure the rapid, unhindered, and safe humanitarian relief, including the delivery of critical services, for all civilians in need. 'Aid is not negotiable,' he added. The secretary-general praised the 'sustained efforts' of mediators Egypt, Qatar and the US to bring an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict. All parties must 'build on today's release to reach a comprehensive agreement that will ensure the release of all hostages, an end to the hostilities, the provision of humanitarian aid and the long-overdue alleviation of the human suffering in Gaza,' he added. Hamas had been in direct contact with the US government over the release, said Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior leader of the militant group in Gaza. He added that Hamas is ready to 'immediately start intensive negotiations' to secure a long-term truce with Israel. The militant group said in a statement: 'The Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing) released the captured Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, a US citizen, a short while ago, following contacts with the US administration. 'This comes as part of the efforts being made by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow aid and relief to reach our people in the Gaza Strip.'
