WEF speakers explore what lies ahead for Gaza as ceasefire takes hold

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (WEF)
UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (WEF)
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Updated 22 January 2025
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WEF speakers explore what lies ahead for Gaza as ceasefire takes hold

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (WEF)
  • UN relief chief says the key priority is to deliver a huge surge of aid into Gaza after weeks of blockages and attacks on convoys
  • Aid agencies and Palestinian National Bank are poised to offer assistance to the embattled Palestinian enclave, session hears

DAVOS: Delivering a huge surge of aid into Gaza is a key priority for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the agency’s head said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Tom Fletcher said that “millions are in need” in the war-torn territory and that the aid would partly support the ceasefire process.

Fletcher said: “The key priority for us on the humanitarian side now is to get a huge surge of aid into Gaza, partly to support the ceasefire process because it is dependent on this step by step, very complex approach, but more importantly because millions are in need.

“Some 600 trucks entered on Sunday, including 300 up to the north, which needs it so badly, 900 on Monday, and more today.”




A boy chases one of the trucks carrying UNRWA aid coming in from the Kerem Shalom border crossing and arriving in the southern Gaza Strip on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

He described how delivering aid had become “almost impossible in the last few weeks,” with convoys being looted and community organizers assisting the OCHA “taken out by Israeli drones.”

Fletcher said: “We lost 79 out of 80 trucks in one convoy. And then the community organizers who went in with us were then taken out by Israeli drones. So it was becoming almost impossible to deliver a fraction of what we needed to do. Now the ceasefire opens up this window and we’ve got to really show that we can deliver at that massive scale.”

However, he warned that the money would soon run out and that the UN agency needs funding and protection to deliver aid.

Fletcher said: “We’ll need the funding and the protection, which means member states have to start saying: ‘Stop shooting at UN convoys.’

“Last year was the deadliest year to be a humanitarian on record and that was mainly because of Gaza.

“We can’t deliver all these convoys alone. So we need commercial traffic getting into Gaza. And we need innovation as well. In the last 14 months, Gaza has been a laboratory of war and testing new weapons. We now need it to be a laboratory of humanitarian support. Can we use as much ingenuity and innovation in saving lives as in killing people? And that’s a real test.”




Palestinians rush to collect aid, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The OCHA chief said the UN agency was launching a big cash aid initiative on Tuesday, adding: “We’re trying to get direct cash support to a million Palestinian families, mostly headed by women, so that they get to make the choices about where they spend the money.”

Also speaking in Davos, Hashim Shawa, the chairman of the Bank of Palestine, said the institution had been working with all development partners in mobilizing cash assistance programs for decades.

He said: “We’ve been the first to innovate in the digital space. We’ve bought in international investors to help the bank not only remain resilient, but grow.

“We’ve grown 100 branches all over the West Bank and Gaza. We’re now in the UAE, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. We got a license in Cairo. We’re expanding in Cairo, obviously. The day after this war, Egypt is going to play a strategic role in the development of Gaza.




The Chairman of the Bank of Palestine Hashim Shawa. (WEF)

“So we’ve left no stone unturned in terms of providing the international aid organizations with a trusted, well-vetted, high tech, bullet-proof platform, Bank of Palestine, to facilitate all this aid. Half a million beneficiaries a year receive much-needed cash assistance and other forms of aid through their phones, digitally.”

Also participating, Sara Pantuliano, the chief executive of ODI Global, a global affairs think tank, said that recovery and reconstruction in Gaza was not just a matter of money and infrastructure, but death and destruction.

She said that colleagues and friends working in Gaza describe it as having a “sort of moon landscape.”




Palestinians search for their belongings under the rubble of destroyed homes a day after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas took effect, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP)

She said: “The UN Development Programme estimates that there are 50 million tons of rubble to be removed. And this rubble is mixed with human remains and unexploded ordnance, which means it’s incredibly difficult to deal with it.

“There is an estimate if you had 100 trucks working day in, day out, to try and remove this rubble, making sure that you dispose and bury the bodies that are mixed with the rubble, and carefully so that you don’t detonate more of this unexploded ordnance, it would take 15 years to dispose of the rubble that’s been created to date.”




Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks during WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

Speaking elsewhere at the WEF annual meeting, Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, admitted that his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state had changed somewhat in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that triggered the Gaza war.

The future of the region “includes many ideas, because the idea of the two-state solution is something which, on record, I supported in the past, many times,” Herzog told CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria.

“But I would say that I had a wake-up call following Oct. 7. In the sense that I want to hear my neighbors say how much they object, regret, condemn, and do not accept, in any way, the terrible tragedy of the terror attack of Oct. 7 — and the fact that it cannot be the tool to get there.”

Herzog added: “One has to understand the state of mind of Israelis, to come after such a horror and a national trauma, surrounded by threats from seven different frontiers, and expect Israelis” to agree to withdraw from West Bank settlements.

That “is not realistic at all,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to Israelis. They need to see something that makes sense in terms of their personal security and safety.”

Rather, he believes future talks with Arab nations that include “the Palestinian issue as a focal point in the discussions is something which makes more sense to me.”

 


Sudan army says retakes key district in Khartoum North

Sudan army says retakes key district in Khartoum North
Updated 08 February 2025
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Sudan army says retakes key district in Khartoum North

Sudan army says retakes key district in Khartoum North
  • Military spokesman Nabil Abdullah said that army forces, alongside allied units, had “completed on Friday the clearing of” Kafouri and other areas in Sharq El Nil
  • The army has in recent weeks surged through Bahri pushing the paramilitaries to the outskirts

PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s military said Saturday that it had regained control of a key district in greater Khartoum as it presses its advance against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The district of Kafouri in Khartoum North, or Bahri, had been under RSF control since war between the army and the paramilitaries began in April 2023.
In a statement, military spokesman Nabil Abdullah said that army forces, alongside allied units, had “completed on Friday the clearing of” Kafouri and other areas in Sharq El Nil, 15 kilometers to the east, of what he described as “remnants of the Dagalo terrorist militias.”
The army has in recent weeks surged through Bahri — an RSF stronghold since the start of the war — pushing the paramilitaries to the outskirts.
The Kafouri district, one of Khartoum’s wealthiest neighborhoods, had served as a key base for RSF leaders.
Among the properties in the area was the residence of Abdel Rahim Dagalo, the brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his deputy in the paramilitary group.
The recapture of Kafouri further weakens the RSF’s hold in the capital and signals the army’s continued advance to retake full control of Khartoum North, which is home to one million people.
Khartoum North, Omdurman across the Nile River, and the city center to the south make up greater Khartoum.
On Thursday, a military source told AFP that the army was advancing toward the center of Khartoum, nearly two years after the city fell to the RSF at the start of the war.
Eyewitnesses in southern Khartoum reported hearing explosions and clashes coming from central Khartoum Saturday morning.
The developments mark one of the army’s most significant offensives since the war broke out between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his erstwhile ally Dagalo’s RSF, which quickly seized much of Khartoum and other strategic areas.
The conflict has devastated the country, displacing more than 12 million and plunging Sudan into the “biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded” according to the International Rescue Committee.


War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years

War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years
Updated 24 min 9 sec ago
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War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years

War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in over 2 years
  • Salam’s cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed
  • Lebanon is also still in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, now in its sixth year

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new prime minister on Saturday formed the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022.
President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam forming the new government.
Salam’s cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed, and comes at a time where Lebanon is scrambling to rebuild its battered southern region and maintain security along its southern border after a devastating war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. A US-brokered ceasefire deal ended the war in November.
Lebanon is also still in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, now in its sixth year, which has battered its banks, destroyed its state electricity sector and left many in poverty unable to access their savings.
Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice, has vowed to reform Lebanon’s judiciary and battered economy and bring about stability in the troubled country, which has faced numerous economic, political, and security crises for decades.
Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.
Lebanon’s new authorities also mark a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, as Beirut hopes to continue improving ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that have been concerned by Hezbollah’s growing political and military power over the past decade.
In early January, former army chief Aoun was elected president, ending that position’s vacuum. He was also a candidate not endorsed by Hezbollah and key allies.
Aoun has shared similar sentiments to Salam, also vowing to consolidate the state’s right to “monopolize the carrying of weapons,” in an apparent reference to the arms of Hezbollah.

Salam’s 24-member cabinet included Deputy Prime Minister, Tarek Mitri, Defense Minister,  Michel Menassa, Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ahmad Al-Hajjar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Youssef Rajji, Minister of Telecommunications, Charles Hajj, Minister of Energy and Water, Joseph Saddi, Minister of Justice, Adel Nassar, Minister of Finance, Yassine Jaber, Minister of Public Health, Rakan Nasser Eldine, Minister of Culture, Ghassan Salameh, Minister of Industry, Joe Issa Al-Khoury, Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Al-Bisat, Minister of Agriculture, Nizar Hani, Minister of Information, Dr Paul Morcos, Minister of Social Affairs, Haneen Sayed, Minister of Youth and Sports, Nora Bayrakdarian, Minister of Tourism, Laura El-Khazen Lahoud, Minister of Education, Rima Karami, Minister of Environment, Tamara El-Zein, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rasamny, Minister of Displacement, Kamal Shehadeh (and State Minister for Technology Affairs and AI), Minister of Labor, Mohamed Haider, and Minister of Administrative Development, Fadi Makki.


Hamas accuses Israel of ‘slow killing’ of Palestinian prisoners

Hamas accuses Israel of ‘slow killing’ of Palestinian prisoners
Updated 53 min 44 sec ago
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Hamas accuses Israel of ‘slow killing’ of Palestinian prisoners

Hamas accuses Israel of ‘slow killing’ of Palestinian prisoners
  • Seven prisoners were transferred to hospitals immediately after their release
  • The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that seven inmates had been admitted to hospitals

GAZA CITY: Hamas accused Israel of adopting a policy it described as the “slow killing” of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails after seven inmates freed on Saturday were admitted to hospital.
“The fact that seven prisoners were transferred to hospitals immediately after their release... reflects the systematic assaults and mistreatment of our prisoners by the Israeli prison authorities,” Hamas said in a statement, adding that it was “part of the policy of the extremist Israeli government, which pursues the slow killing of prisoners inside the prisons.”
Meanwhile Abdullah Al-Zaghari, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club told AFP: “All the prisoners who were released today are in need of medical care, treatment, and examinations as a result of the brutality they were subjected to during the past months. There are seven who were transferred to the hospital.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that seven inmates had been admitted to hospitals.


Kingdom’s security ‘red line’ for Egypt, says Cairo

Kingdom’s security ‘red line’ for Egypt, says Cairo
Updated 08 February 2025
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Kingdom’s security ‘red line’ for Egypt, says Cairo

Kingdom’s security ‘red line’ for Egypt, says Cairo

CAIRO: Egypt condemned on Saturday as “irresponsible” statements by Israeli officials suggesting establishing a Palestinian state on Saudi territory, according to a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry said it considered the suggestion a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty”, adding that the Kingdom's security was a “red line for Egypt”. 


Head of UN chemical weapons watchdog to meet Syrian leader: authorities

Fernando Arias, Director General. (X @OPCW)
Fernando Arias, Director General. (X @OPCW)
Updated 08 February 2025
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Head of UN chemical weapons watchdog to meet Syrian leader: authorities

Fernando Arias, Director General. (X @OPCW)
  • The OPCW has asked the authorities in Syria to secure all relevant locations and safeguard any relevant documentation

DAMASCUS: The head of the world’s chemical weapons watchdog will meet Syria’s new leader Saturday, in a first visit since the ouster of Bashar Assad, who was repeatedly accused of using such weapons during Syria’s 13-year civil war.

“We will broadcast the President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmad Al-Sharaa and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Asaad Al-Shaibani receiving a delegation from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),” an official Syrian Telegram channel said in a statement.

The statement said the delegation was headed by OPCW chief Fernanado Arias.

In 2013, Syria agreed to join the OPCW shortly after a suspected chemical gas attack killed more than 1,000 people near Damascus.

It handed over its declared stockpile for destruction, but the OPCW has always been concerned that the declaration made by Damascus was incomplete and that more weapons remained.

Assad’s government denied using chemical weapons.

But in 2014, the OPCW set up what it called a “fact-finding mission” to investigate chemical weapons use in Syria, subsequently issuing 21 reports covering 74 instances of alleged chemical weapons use.

Investigators concluded that chemical weapons were used or likely used in 20 instances.