Arab leaders promise to work on reconstruction of Gaza, press for ceasefire
Baghdad(AP/PTI): Arab leaders at an annual summit in Baghdad called Saturday for an immediate end to Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and to allow aid into the Palestinian territories without conditions. They promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the territory once the war stops.
In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gaza's reconstruction without displacing its roughly 2 million residents.
Saturday's summit was attended by Arab leaders, including Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. The Egyptian leader said that even if Israel succeeds in normalising relations with all Arab states, “a lasting, just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.” Egypt was the first Arab country to normalise ties with Israel.
Among the guests were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who called for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and the flow of aid into the besieged territory. He said that the UN rejects any “forced displacement” of Palestinians.
Saturday's summit comes two months after Israel ended a ceasefire reached with the Hamas in January. In recent days, Israel has launched widespread attacks in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a further escalation to pursue his aim of destroying Hamas.
“This genocide has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,” Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza. Al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay USD 20 million for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.
Final statement calls for end to Israeli attacks in Gaza
“We demand an immediate end to the Israeli aggression on Gaza and an end to hostilities that are increasing the suffering of innocent civilians,” said the final statement issued after the summit that was read by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein. “Humanitarian aid should be allowed into all areas in Palestine without conditions.”
The leaders said they reject any attempt to displace Palestinians in Gaza saying that any such move would be “a crime against humanity and (an act of) ethnic cleansing.” The statement said Arab leaders support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for the holding of an international peace conference that leads to a two-state solution.
El-Sissi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the US, is “exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander. He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza “once the aggression stops.”
Abbas calls for Hamas to give up power in Gaza
Abbas, the Palestinian president, called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and hand over weapons to the Palestinian Authority.
Arab leaders back Syrian unity
The statement issued after the summit said Arab leaders back Syria's unity and reject foreign intervention in the country. They condemned Israel's airstrikes and land incursions into Syria over the past months.
They praised Trump's plans to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and the easing of European sanctions recently saying that would “speed up recovery and the reconstruction process” in the war-torn country.
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Bank manager shot dead in fit of rage by security manager upset by salary, denied leave
Lucknow (PTI): A security guard of a Ghaziabad bank upset over leave and salary related issues walked into the manager's cabin and shot him dead, police said on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old manager of the Loni branch of the Punjab and Sind Bank was rushed to a hospital on Monday where he was declared dead, they said.
The security guard, Ravindra Hooda (50) and his accomplice, Shishupal (57), have been arrested, police said.
"The security guard along with his accomplice entered the cabin of the bank manager and fired at him. The injured bank manager was taken to GTB Hospital in Delhi for treatment, where doctors declared him as dead," police said in a statement.
SHO Loni Border Manish Bist on Tuesday said the bank manager, Abhishek Kumar, was from Patna. He has been posted in Ghaziabad since August 2025, and was living in a rented house with his wife.
Police said that during interrogation, Hooda said he had been working in the branch for the past two and a half months.
"He said his salary was reduced, and when he would ask for leave, it was refused. Following this, there was an argument with him (Abhishek Kumar)," the police statement said.
He said he fired at the bank manager in anger and that Shishupal was present with him during the incident, it added. Hooda and Shishupal were from the same village in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
Police said a case under section 103 (1) (punishment for murder) of the BNS has been registered against him. Police have recovered a double-barrel gun and ammunition and the Arms Act has also been slapped on the accused, the statement said.
