The foreign ministers of five Arab countries have declared Palestine's right to take control of Gaza

The Gaza Strip, as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, are part of the Palestinian territories, so these territories should come under the control of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). This was stated in a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE following their meeting in Cairo on February 1.

"We will work to enable the NPA to fulfill its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, which is as much a part of the Palestinian territories as the West Bank and East Jerusalem," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Facebook (owned by Meta, whose activities are banned in Russia).

In addition, stressed the importance of the work of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and criticized Israel for its decision to ban its activities.

"We call on the international community, especially international and regional powers and the UN Security Council, to start the actual implementation of the two-state solution in order to ensure the elimination of the causes of tension in the Middle East," the Foreign Ministry said.

Also, an international conference on Palestine, chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, was announced for June 2025 following the talks in Cairo. Among other things, the foreign ministers of Arab countries in rejected the idea of resettlement of Palestinians from their lands "under any circumstances and justifications", writes Al Arabiya.

Contributing to the freeze: how the truce between Israel and Hamas will work and how long it will last

On the first day of the deal, the Palestinian movement freed three hostages

Earlier, on January 30, US President Donald Trump 's special envoy to the Middle East Steven Whitkoff declared that Gaza is "uninhabitable" and its reconstruction will take 10-15 years.

On January 24, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya , said that he considers the conflict in Gaza a reflection of the West's indifference to the protection of human rights. According to him, even if the Palestinian-Israeli conflict ends now, the risk of death and injury for the children of Gaza will continue for at least 14 more years. That is how long it will take to clear the territory of unexploded shells.

The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip began on the morning of January 19. At the same time, the Palestinian Hamas movement handed over three Israeli hostages - Romy Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher - to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The next day, Israel released the first 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal. The hostage exchange continues.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.