Muslim states warn against forced Gaza exodus

Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday strongly rejected proposals to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, as thousands of Gazans held a funeral for 100 people whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and seven other Muslim nations warned in a joint statement that turning calls from Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defence Minister Israel Katz into policy would threaten Palestinian rights, international law and regional stability.

Far-right Ben Gvir unveiled a plan on Thursday aimed at removing the vast majority of Gaza's population from the territory in remarks similar to Katz's statement, in which he reiterated that a plan was ready to forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip "by sea, land and air".

In the joint statement, the eight ministers condemned remarks by Ben-Gvir and Katz, describing the proposals as flagrantly violating principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and posing a direct threat to the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.

"The Ministers reaffirm their unequivocal rejection and condemnation of any attempts or plans aimed at displacing the Palestinian people, whether within or outside the occupied Palestinian Territory, under any pretext or justification," the statement said.

The eight foreign ministers said such proposals would constitute a direct challenge to international efforts aimed at achieving peace, foremost among them US President Donald Trump's Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which includes an unequivocal rejection of forced displacement.

The ministers stressed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian Territory and underscored the imperative of preserving the unity of Palestinian territory in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

They reaffirmed that the only path towards achieving a just and lasting peace was implementation of the two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state established along the lines of June 4, 1967, and East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.

The eight countries also called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to fulfil its responsibilities by firmly confronting attempts to impose a new demographic or geographic reality in the occupied Palestinian Territory and ensuring respect for international law.

"The ministers reaffirm their continued full support for the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and their rejection of all attempts aimed at erasing the Palestinian cause or undermining the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, in Gaza City, thousands of Palestinians, including relatives of victims, community figures and political representatives, held a funeral procession for 100 people whose bodies and remains were recently recovered from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed in Israel's war on the enclave.

The funeral was held in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, where the bodies and remains were laid out near the ruins of the destroyed homes and draped in Palestinian flags. The bodies and remains were buried at Al-Ahli cemetery in Zeitoun following funeral prayers.

The funeral included memorial addresses by Gaza's Civil Defence teams, which carried out the recovery operations. Civil Defence teams recovered the remains in recent days as part of the second phase of a project launched on July 19 to retrieve Palestinians still buried beneath buildings destroyed during the war.

The victims belonged to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka, Qanbour and Salmi families and were killed when Israeli forces struck several residential homes, according to local authorities.

Recovery operations are being conducted with limited resources, including a small number of excavators and deteriorating equipment, amid restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery and equipment required to search through the rubble.

Sunday's ceremony was among the largest funerals in Palestinian history in terms of the number of bodies and remains being buried, according to an Anadolu tally. A similar funeral was held in early August for 112 Palestinians recovered from the rubble of homes in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct 10, 2025, followed nearly two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000, while destroying or damaging much of the enclave's civilian infrastructure.

(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)