Arab, Turkish FMs call for urgent ceasefire in Gaza during Canada visit

• Foreign ministers from Turkiye and Arab world urged a ceasefire in Gaza.
• The FMs met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
• Concerns over Israeli military action and civilian casualties.

During a visit to the Canadian capital on Saturday, a group of foreign ministers from Turkiye and the Arab world emphasized the necessity of an urgent ceasefire in order to restore security and stability to the Gaza Strip.

Before starting an official round of negotiations with Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, the team, led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, was met by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, according to the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry.

Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of Turkiye, and Riyad Al-Maliki, the foreign minister of Palestine, also attended the discussions.

According to a statement from the ministry, the officials talked about Israel’s military build-up against Palestinian civilians as well as the developments in Gaza and their implications.

The group stressed that talks about Gaza’s future and the Palestinian issue “must come after an immediate ceasefire and a calming of the unjustified military escalation,” and it asked the international community to swiftly assume its responsibility to protect civilians.

The team emphasized how critical it is to move decisively to secure relief routes so that crucial food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid can reach Gaza.

It also rejected addressing Gaza’s future in isolation from the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict and emphasized the significance of establishing political conditions for the creation of a Palestinian state.

The ministers voiced concern about the growing range of egregious attacks by Israeli forces against civilians and the ongoing transgressions of international law, as well as their displeasure with the UN Security Council’s blocking of a resolution demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Following Washington’s veto of the resolution, the delegation, which included representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and the Palestinian Authority, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.

Health officials in the besieged enclave reported on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 17,700, with women and children accounting for 70% of the fatalities and more than 46,000 wounded.

Of the over two million people living in Gaza, the majority have been forced to leave their homes.

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