Oman supports Egypt’s stance 'Philadelphi Corridor'
UN calls for permanent ceasefire in Gaza
Published: 05:09 PM,Sep 04,2024 | EDITED : 09:09 PM,Sep 04,2024
Palestinian teacher Israa Abu Mustafa, who set up a classroom tent on the rubble of her house to educate children, poses for a photo, in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. — Reuters
MUSCAT/CAIRO: The Sultanate of Oman has expressed its full support and solidarity with the Arab Republic of Egypt on its stance rejecting and condemning the statements of the Israeli occupation government about the “Philadelphi Corridor” in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Oman warned against the implications of those provocative statements which, it said, were “aimed at undermining mediation efforts made by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a permanent ceasefire that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, enables them to obtain all their legitimate rights and establish their independent state.”
Meanwhile, the main UN agency for Palestinians said on Wednesday that good progress is being made in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza but a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war is needed to ease humanitarian suffering, .
UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza, around 187,000 children had received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the Palestinian enclave for the second stage.
The campaign was prompted by the discovery of a case of polio in a baby boy last month, the first in the Gaza Strip for 25 years. Israel and Hamas agreed to daily pauses of eight hours in the fighting in pre-specified areas to allow the vaccination programme. No violations have been reported.
'Great progress! Everyday in the Middle Areas of #Gaza, more children are getting vaccines against #Polio,' the head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Wednesday.
'While these polio 'pauses' are giving people some respite, what is urgently needed is a permanent ceasefire, the release of all captives + the standard flow of humanitarian supplies including medical and hygiene supplies (into Gaza),' he said.
Palestinians say a big reason for the return of polio is the collapse of Gaza's health system and the destruction of most of its hospitals during the war.
DIPLOMATIC STANDSTILL
Despite the success of the polio campaign, diplomatic efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire, release of captives and return many Palestinians jailed by Israel, have faltered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israeli troops would remain in the Philadelphi Corridor on the southern edge of Gaza bordering Egypt, one of the main sticking points in reaching a deal.
Hamas, which wants any agreement ending the war to include a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, says such a condition, among some others, would prevent an accord.
The impasse is frustrating Israel's international allies and the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council.
Slovenia's UN envoy — the council's president for September — said on Tuesday that patience is running out and the global body will probably consider taking action if a ceasefire cannot be brokered soon.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that the only way a deal could be reached was if Israel agreed to a US proposal on July 2, endorsed by the Security Council, and accepted by the group. Both Israel and Hamas blame failure to clinch a deal on conditions added by each of the two sides. SEE ALSO P6
In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, Oman warned against the implications of those provocative statements which, it said, were “aimed at undermining mediation efforts made by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a permanent ceasefire that ends the suffering of the Palestinian people, enables them to obtain all their legitimate rights and establish their independent state.”
Meanwhile, the main UN agency for Palestinians said on Wednesday that good progress is being made in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza but a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war is needed to ease humanitarian suffering, .
UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza, around 187,000 children had received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the Palestinian enclave for the second stage.
The campaign was prompted by the discovery of a case of polio in a baby boy last month, the first in the Gaza Strip for 25 years. Israel and Hamas agreed to daily pauses of eight hours in the fighting in pre-specified areas to allow the vaccination programme. No violations have been reported.
'Great progress! Everyday in the Middle Areas of #Gaza, more children are getting vaccines against #Polio,' the head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Wednesday.
'While these polio 'pauses' are giving people some respite, what is urgently needed is a permanent ceasefire, the release of all captives + the standard flow of humanitarian supplies including medical and hygiene supplies (into Gaza),' he said.
Palestinians say a big reason for the return of polio is the collapse of Gaza's health system and the destruction of most of its hospitals during the war.
DIPLOMATIC STANDSTILL
Despite the success of the polio campaign, diplomatic efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire, release of captives and return many Palestinians jailed by Israel, have faltered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israeli troops would remain in the Philadelphi Corridor on the southern edge of Gaza bordering Egypt, one of the main sticking points in reaching a deal.
Hamas, which wants any agreement ending the war to include a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza, says such a condition, among some others, would prevent an accord.
The impasse is frustrating Israel's international allies and the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council.
Slovenia's UN envoy — the council's president for September — said on Tuesday that patience is running out and the global body will probably consider taking action if a ceasefire cannot be brokered soon.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that the only way a deal could be reached was if Israel agreed to a US proposal on July 2, endorsed by the Security Council, and accepted by the group. Both Israel and Hamas blame failure to clinch a deal on conditions added by each of the two sides. SEE ALSO P6