OIC and Arab group at U.N. demand immediate ceasefire, unfettered aid for Gaza

Representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab group at the United Nations called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, unrestricted humanitarian access and accountability for alleged violations of international law, during a New York press briefing.

The statement, read in part by the charge of Türkiye for the OIC group and delivered by ambassadors and ministers representing Arab and OIC members, described Israel’s announced plan to impose full military control over Gaza as “a dangerous and unacceptable escalation” and a violation of international humanitarian law. "We demand the immediate and comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression," one speaker said.

The group urged that food, medicine and fuel be allowed into Gaza at scale and that relief agencies be permitted to operate freely. The statement said the actions it described — including killings, forced displacement and attacks on civilian infrastructure — "may amount to crimes against humanity," and it called on the international community and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to act urgently.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour and other speakers commended recent diplomatic activity, including a high-level international conference in New York co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France and consultations within the Security Council, while urging those efforts to move from expression to enforcement. "The Security Council has tools available to it if it wishes to act accordingly," one ambassador said, adding that national measures such as suspending portions of trade agreements and arms transfers are being considered or implemented by several governments.

Speakers pointed to steps by European states and other governments as examples: the European Union's debate over trade arrangements with Israel, Germany's announced restriction on weapons shipments, and some countries' suspension of military exports. Norway's withdrawal of investments from Israeli assets and Colombia’s diplomatic break were cited as further examples of national-level responses already underway.

The speakers also condemned the killing of journalists and humanitarian workers in Gaza and urged intensified international investigation and accountability. "We lost more than 200 people, about half of them children, because of starvation," one speaker said; another said more than 270 journalists and more than 400 humanitarian workers have been killed while trying to deliver aid and report from Gaza. Participants called for independent verification of conditions on the ground and for Security Council members to visit Gaza.

The OIC and Arab group reiterated support for a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state on 1967 lines and East Jerusalem as its capital, as set out in past U.N. outcomes. They also urged immediate commencement of the Arab-Islamic reconstruction plan for Gaza and active participation in a reconstruction conference to be held in Cairo. Speakers said that conference will require “tens of billions of dollars” in commitments.

While speakers urged more aggressive international measures, they also stressed the limitations of U.N. and international institutions and the slow pace of courts such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. They urged member states, media organizations and civil society to maintain pressure on governments and to document conditions in Gaza.

The briefing closed with pledges to continue consultations in the U.N. and with partners, and to press for implementation of international commitments and the outcomes of the recent New York conference.

Short-term next steps mentioned by speakers included continued consultations with Security Council members, outreach to capitals to secure signatures on the conference declaration and mobilization for the Cairo reconstruction meeting. No formal U.N. vote or Security Council resolution was adopted during the briefing.

The speakers' remarks were delivered on behalf of the OIC group, the Arab group and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which said it would continue consultations as needed.