SWEIMEH: Leaders at an emergency summit on Gaza's humanitarian crisis pleaded on Tuesday for greater aid access into the war-ravaged territory and backed a US-proposed ceasefire as the only long-term solution.
Jordan invited leaders from around the world to its Dead Sea coast for urgent talks as aid groups warn that conditions are worse than ever in Gaza, with virtually the whole population of more than two million people relying on sporadic aid deliveries.
"The horror must stop," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the conference. "The speed and scale of the carnage and killing in Gaza is beyond anything in my years as secretary-general," he said.
UN humanitarian coordination Martin Griffiths described the Gaza war as a "stain on our humanity" and appealed for $2.5 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of Gazans from April until December.
Guterres voiced his backing for a ceasefire plan put forth by US President Joe Biden, under which Israel would withdraw from Gaza population centres and Hamas would free hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday announced $404 million in new US assistance for the Palestinians, as he urged other countries including US critics also to give money to address Gaza's humanitarian crisis.
"Some have expressed great concern over the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, including countries with the capacity to give a lot, have provided very little or nothing at all," Blinken told an emergency aid conference in Jordan.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel's military operation, announced that his government would offer another 16 million euros in assistance.
Guterres on Tuesday said that since the closure of the border, "the flow of critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza -- which was already woefully inadequate -- has plummeted by two-thirds".
He estimated that more than 50,000 children required treatment for acute malnutrition.
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the co-hosts of the summit, also backed the calls for a ceasefire.
Sisi blamed the humanitarian crisis on Israel, saying it was "manufactured" and accusing Israel of using hunger as a weapon of war. — AFP
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