Arab leaders arrive in Egypt for emergency Arab summit on Gaza

CAIRO

Arab leaders began to arrive in Egypt on Monday to attend an emergency Arab summit on the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The Iraqi state news agency INA said President Abdul Latif Rashid arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo to attend Tuesday’s summit to discuss developments in Gaza and the West Bank.

Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa is also set to leave Manama on Monday for Cairo to attend the summit, the Bahraini news agency BNA said.

Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah will fly to Cairo on Tuesday to lead his country’s delegation to the summit, the state news agency KUNA reported.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is also expected to lead Syria’s delegation to the Arab summit.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani arrived in Cairo on Monday to attend preparatory meetings for the summit.

Tunisia’s delegation to the summit will be headed by Foreign Minister Ali Nafti.

Tuesday’s Arab summit aims to formulate a unified Arab stance on the Palestinian issue and present an Arab counterproposal to US plans for the displacement of Gaza's population.

Last month, US President Donald Trump proposed to “take over” Gaza and resettle its population to develop it into a tourist destination, an idea vehemently rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

More than 48,300 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 111,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since October 2023. The onslaught, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.

Israel, however, halted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday, hours after the expiry of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.