UAE President, Trump discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts, state news agency says

ABU DHABI – United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan and US President Donald Trump discussed in a phone call efforts for reaching a ceasefire in Gaza, Emirati state news agency WAM reported on March 25, as Israel resumed its military offensive in the enclave last week.

The Israeli military resumed fighting in Gaza on March 18, shattering a fragile two-month ceasefire. Since then, nearly 700 people, mostly women and children, have been killed, according to Palestinian health officials.

In his phone call with Mr Trump, the Emirati President also urged making aid available for Gaza residents as well as supporting the two-state solution, WAM reported.

In early February, Mr Trump presented his plan for Gaza which entailed displacing Palestinians and creating a Middle East “Riviera”. The proposal drew condemnations from many global leaders.

Arab states including the UAE adopted an Egyptian alternative reconstruction plan for Gaza that would cost US$53 billion (S$70.8 billion) and avoid displacing Palestinians.

WAM’s report did not mention if the two leaders discussed those plans.

Mr Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to UAE’s President, said on Feb 26 that a Gaza reconstruction plan cannot happen without a clear path to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

The UAE is among the few Arab states that normalised ties with Israel in 2020 in US-brokered agreements under Mr Trump.

The Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza which resumed last week has killed a total of more than 50,000 people. The war began on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas militants stormed across the border, and Israel said the militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 people into captivity in Gaza. REUTERS