MANAMA, Bahrain: Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) convened in Bahrain for their 46th session, where they reaffirmed their support for a “just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
In a statement issued at the summit on Wednesday, the GCC expressed support for regional and international efforts to ensure “full compliance with the provisions of the agreement to end the war in the Gaza Strip.”
“Facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and advancing efforts to establish an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative, and international legitimacy,” the statement read.
“In a manner that fulfils the aspirations of the Palestinian people and all peoples of the region to live in security and peace.”
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes and shootings killed six Palestinians, including a journalist, in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources said, as ceasefire violations cast doubt on the US-brokered truce’s durability.
Arab media reported that journalist Mahmoud Wadi was killed in an air strike in Khan Younis. Local sources, cited by Al Jazeera, said a young man was shot dead in a refugee camp in central Gaza.
Since the ceasefire began, monitoring groups and Palestinian authorities say about 360 Palestinians have been killed. Israel’s bombardment campaign has killed at least 70,103 Palestinians and wounded about 170,965 in Gaza since October 2023, the territory’s health ministry said.
Speaking at the opening session of the 46th GCC summit, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa emphasised that the security and prosperity of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states are “indivisible.”
The Gulf leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a unified defence strategy. GCC Secretary Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi noted that the member states are working toward finalizing a joint defensive air shield “in the near future.”
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, headed the Saudi delegation at the summit and is also set to co-chair the fourth meeting of the Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council.
Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, stated that the GCC has managed to navigate challenging regional and global developments. He further reaffirmed the bloc’s condemnation of Israel’s aggression toward Qatar.
The GCC was founded in 1981 and comprises six members, and its headquarters is located in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
