Arab leaders endorse Egypt’s $53 billion Gaza reconstruction plan
Cairo/Gaza: Arab leaders have approved Egypt’s $53 billion Gaza reconstruction plan, aimed at preventing the displacement of Palestinians and rebuilding the war-torn enclave. The decision was made during an emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday, with full backing from participating leaders.
The plan includes establishing a seaport and an airport in Gaza, as well as recycling rubble left by the destruction. A non-factional technocratic committee will oversee Gaza’s administration for at least six months under the Palestinian Authority’s umbrella.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced that Egypt would seek international support for the plan. Arab leaders pledged financial, material, and political assistance, urging global institutions to contribute. They also emphasised the need to implement the next phases of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel and called for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor.
The leaders warned that any attempts to annex Palestinian land or displace its people would escalate conflict and destabilise the region. They vowed to establish a trust fund for reconstruction and rejected previous proposals, including former US President Donald Trump's plan to relocate Gazans to neighbouring countries.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the reconstruction plan, reaffirming support for Trump’s earlier proposal. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed the UN’s readiness to support Egypt’s initiative, calling for unimpeded humanitarian aid access.
Hamas welcomed the summit’s outcomes, hailing the Arab leaders’ rejection of displacement efforts. The group asserted that the Palestinian “Nakba” of 1948 would not be repeated and called for mobilising resources to ensure the plan’s success.
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Missing Kerala class 10 student found dead near Chandradrona hills
Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): Three days after a class 10 student from Kerala went missing during a family trip to Manikyadhara Falls in the Chandradrona hill range, she was found dead on Friday, police said.
The deceased, identified as Kumari Shrinanda, had been missing since Tuesday evening after she went trekking in the Chandradrona hills, they said.
"The body has been traced, and the clothes she was wearing are intact. The body will be sent for a post-mortem, and further procedures are underway," Chikkamagaluru Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Dayama told PTI.
The girl was part of a group of around 40 relatives who had travelled from Palakkad, police added.
According to police, she went missing at around 5.30 pm on Tuesday while at the falls with her family. The family searched for her until about 8 pm before informing the authorities.
After receiving the report, police and forest department personnel launched a search operation in the area. Thermal drones were deployed to locate the girl.
Disaster management teams also joined the operation.
In a separate incident in Kodagu district recently, a 36-year-old woman from Kerala went missing while trekking in the Tadiandamol hills and was later traced and reunited with her family.
