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UN Secretary-General to attend Cairo summit; urges ceasefire, hostage releases and two-state framework
Summary
The Secretary-General said he will join a League of Arab States summit in Cairo to discuss Gaza reconstruction, urged that the ceasefire and hostage-release deal hold, and called for a political framework leading toward a two-state solution.
The Secretary-General, United Nations, said he will travel to Cairo next Tuesday to join an extraordinary summit of the League of Arab States to discuss reconstruction of Gaza and urged leaders to uphold a ceasefire and the terms of a hostage-release agreement.
"The ceasefire and hostage release deal must hold," the Secretary-General said, adding that "humanitarian aid must be maintained, protected, and funded, flowing without impediment to reach people in desperate need." He said each moment the ceasefire holds allows more people to be reached and more lives to be saved.
The statement described the scale of destruction in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attacks and said hospitals, schools, and water facilities have been destroyed or reduced to rubble, creating urgent humanitarian needs. The Secretary-General said that since the ceasefire humanitarians have been able to scale up operations, providing food "to nearly everyone in Gaza," delivering shelter kits and essential items to tens of thousands of displaced people, doubling the amount of clean water available, and distributing medical supplies that have reached "some 1,800,000 people."
He urged that ending the immediate crisis be followed by a clear political framework for Gaza's recovery and long-term stability. The Secretary-General called for preventing any form of ethnic cleansing, for accountability for violations of international law, and said there should be "no long term Israeli military presence in Gaza." He said Gaza should remain part of an independent, democratic and sovereign Palestinian state with no forced transfers of population and that transitional arrangements should be designed to achieve a unified Palestinian government within a precise and limited time frame.
On the West Bank, the Secretary-General urged urgent de-escalation and said settlement expansion, threats of annexation and attacks on civilians and property must stop. He also called for tangible steps toward a two-state solution, saying, "The only path to lasting peace is where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security in line with international law and relevant UN resolutions."
The Secretary-General also appealed for support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying UNRWA's unique role must be maintained. He framed the Cairo summit as an opportunity for leaders across the Arab world "to come together and discuss the elements required to deliver peace and stability in Gaza," and said he will outline key priorities at the meeting.
The statement closed with thanks to the press; no questions were taken at the briefing.
