Sayyid Badr speaks to PLO secretary, calls for ceasefire
Muscat - H E Sayyid al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, received a phone call from Hussein al Sheikh, Secretary of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), on Sunday.
They discussed current developments in Palestine and repercussions of the brutal Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.
During the call, they also stressed the importance of reaching an immediate ceasefire, the release of all prisoners and detainees, the entry of necessary humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip, ending the siege of Gaza, and the exit of all Israeli forces from it in preparation of achieving a just and comprehensive political solution to the Palestinian issue.
They also stressed the need for the international community to recognise the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the practical implementation of the two-state solution, while supporting the leadership of the Palestinian National Authority as the legitimate representative of the brotherly Palestinian people of all faiths and factions.
US likely to block Gaza ceasefire resolution
The UN Security Council is likely to vote on Tuesday on an Algerian push for the 15-member body to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-hamas war, a move the United States indicated it would veto.
“Should it come up for a vote as drafted, it will not be adopted,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN, in a statement on Saturday. She said the resolution could “run counter” to the goals that Washington says can be achieved through diplomacy in talks between Israel and Hamas that Qatar and Egypt are also mediating.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip's second-largest hospital has been put "completely out of service", a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday.
The health ministry in Gaza said at least 28,985 people have been killed and 68,883 wounded in Israeli strikes on the enclave since October 7, the vast majority women and children.