
Pakistan hopes for ‘meaningful outcomes' ahead of high-level UN summit on Palestine today
The event — officially titled the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution — will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France from July 28-29. The conference arrives amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and a historic diplomatic shift: France's decision to formally recognize Palestine as a state.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The conference takes place a day after Israel declared a 'tactical pause' in fighting in parts of Gaza on Sunday and said it would allow the UN and aid agencies to open secure land routes to tackle a deepening hunger crisis.
Dar spoke to Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday to discuss the 'grave' humanitarian situation in Gaza impacting millions of Palestinians, Pakistan's foreign office said on Sunday.
'He expressed the hope of achieving meaningful outcomes from the high-level international conference on Palestine and implementation of the two-state solution scheduled to be held in New York tomorrow,' the foreign office said.
The two diplomats also exchanged views about a 'high-level visit' to Pakistan in the near future, the statement said without elaborating further.
One of the most consequential developments ahead of the conference is French President Emmanuel Macron's July 24 announcement that France will formally recognize Palestine, with the official declaration to be made at the UN General Assembly in September.
Analysts say France's move could tip the balance internationally. Already, 147 of 193 UN member states — nearly 75 percent — recognize Palestine, including nearly all of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. France would be the first G7 country to join that group. The US, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK still do not, citing the need for direct negotiations with Israel.
The conference will convene foreign ministers and diplomats from dozens of countries and will build upon the work of eight working groups, each focusing on areas such as security, humanitarian aid, and post-war reconstruction.
A follow-up summit is planned in September at the UN General Assembly, to be co-chaired by President Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Arab News
31 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israeli army reveals rise in soldiers' suicides linked to Gaza war
LONDON: An Israeli army investigation has revealed that 16 soldiers committed suicide in 2025 due to harsh combat conditions related to the war in the Gaza Strip. Soldiers faced harsh realities in Gaza, including witnessing 'difficult scenes,' experiencing the loss of friends, and struggling to cope with the prolonged combat. Investigators believe these factors played a significant role in leading the soldiers to take their own lives. The investigation examined letters left by soldiers and gathered details from their conversations with their immediate social circle. A senior military official told the Israeli Broadcasting Authority that the Israeli army fears the phenomenon will spread, as seven reservists took their own lives in July. The official added: 'Most cases of suicide among soldiers resulted from the complexities (of life) following the war. War has consequences. These (present) difficult challenges; there are quite a few cases.' The Israeli army is concerned about the increasing number of soldier suicides this year compared to previous years. In 2024, 21 Israeli soldiers committed suicide, including 12 reservists, whereas in 2023, the year that saw the launch of the Gaza war in its fourth quarter, 17 Israeli soldiers took their own lives. As of July, at least 887 Israeli soldiers have been killed during military operations or in combat with Palestinian armed fighters in the Gaza Strip.

Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Macron slams ‘abject cruelty' of Hamas hostage video
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Hamas showed 'inhumanity without bounds' by releasing videos of two emaciated Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian militant group in Gaza. Hamas and its Islamic Jihad ally have recently released three clips showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who were seized during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war. 'Abject cruelty, inhumanity without bounds: this is what Hamas represents,' said the French head of state of the 'unbearable images.' 'The absolute priority for France is the immediate release of all the hostages,' he added on X. In the footage shared by the Palestinian groups, 21-year-old Braslavski, a German-Israeli, and 24-year-old David both appear weak and malnourished. The footage of David showed him digging what he said in the staged video was his own grave, triggering particular outrage. Macron, who has said France will recognize a Palestinian state in September, promised to 'work without respite' for 'the re-establishment without delay of a ceasefire, and to allow the mass delivery of humanitarian aid, still blocked at the gates of Gaza.' But he also argued that Hamas must have no part ruling coastal strip once the war ends. 'We must have the total demilitarization of Hamas, its complete exclusion from any form of governance and the recognition of Israel by the state of Palestine,' he said. Besides Macron, the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also condemned the videos as showing Hamas' 'barbarity,' insisting the militants disarm and release the dozens of hostages it still keeps in captivity. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha added his voice to the outrage, insisting that 'Hamas' inhuman treatment of the Israeli hostages deserves a very strong condemnation.' 'People in Gaza should not remain suffering because of Hamas' heinous crimes. It must lay down its arms and release all hostages immediately,' Sybiha added on X. Braslavski and David are among 49 hostages taken during Hamas' 2023 attack still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Most of the 251 hostages seized in the attack have been released, some in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli custody. Hamas' 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,430 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers those figures to be reliable.


Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel arrests over 18K Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza since Oct. 2023
LONDON: Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli authorities have arrested 18,500 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, according to the latest prisoners' report released on Sunday. The Prisoners and Liberators Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that the figure includes 570 women and 1,500 children, in addition to 194 journalists, 49 of whom are still in detention. The rights groups reported that at least 75 prisoners have died in Israeli prisons since Oct. 7, 2023, including 46 from the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities continue to hold the bodies of 72 prisoners among the 83 who died in total before and after October 2023. The report includes Palestinians taken from their homes during Israeli military raids or at military checkpoints. However, it does not include the complete and exact number of prisoners captured in Gaza during the Israeli military campaign in the coastal enclave. The groups accused Israeli authorities of perpetrating a 'policy of enforced disappearance' against Gaza's prisoners by not releasing their numbers and names. It warned of ongoing violations against Palestinians amid the Israeli regime's continuing war in Gaza, where it is accused of committing genocide, and the wider Palestinian territories.