Safadi, UN Gaza coordinator discuss efforts to end war, deliver aid into besieged strip

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi on Monday met with UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag over the latest developments in the besieged strip and efforts to halt the humanitarian catastrophe resulted from the war.

Safadi stressed the need for more efforts from the international community to halt the war on Gaza and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe in line with the international law and international legitimacy resolutions, mainly those of the UN General Assembly, according to a ministry statement.

The minister also reiterated the importance of undisrupted and sustainable flow of humanitarian and relief assistance into Gaza without any hindrance in a way that ensures the operation of vital facilities and hospitals to offer their services to the Palestinians in Gaza.

He also renewed the Kingdom's rejection of internal or external displacement of Palestinians, underscoring the need for the return of displaced people to their areas.

Safadi praised UN Secretary-General António Guterres's position in supporting justice in line with the core principles of the UN and his calls for stopping the war and providing international protection for the Palestinian people.

For her part, Kaag, who was appointed under UN Security Council Resolution 2720, which demands immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip, commended the Jordanian efforts in rallying international efforts to stop the war and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

Meanwhile, Safadi received a delegation from the Churches for Middle East Peace to discuss the Israeli aggression on Gaza and efforts exerted to reach an international position to stop the war and the humanitarian catastrophe.

Talks during the meeting went over the "illegitimate and illegal" unilateral Israeli procedures in the West Bank and Jerusalem and the restrictions imposed by Israel on the freedom of worship.

The meeting stressed the need to stop these acts and the violence of settlers, the statement said.

Safadi called for halting "recurrent" Israeli violations of the international law and the international humanitarian law, stopping attacks on civilians, schools, hospitals and houses of worship, providing international protection for the Palestinian people and ensuring the right of worship of Muslims and Christians in occupied Jerusalem. 

For their part, members of the delegation commended the role of Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, in garnering an effective international support to stop the war on Gaza and deliver humanitarian and medical assistance in an immediate, adequate and sustainable manner to the entire besieged strip.