Gaza ceasefire a chance for ME to turn a page: Saudi FM

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah, on Wednesday said the Middle East has an opportunity to shape a prosperous future following the Gaza ceasefire deal which came into effect at the start of the week.

Prince Faisal addressed a panel session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos on ‘Diplomacy amid Disorder’, where he spoke about an opportunity for the region “to turn a page.”

“We are certainly in a region that is abundant with risk factors. But we are also in a region that has huge potential. Even with a very difficult year behind us, we have shown we can be resilient as a region and we can look to the future, whether it’s the Kingdom, the GCC countries and their ability to stay on track with their economic agendas. But also, as we see now with Syria, Lebanon, and possibly now in Gaza - there is positivity there.

“The opportunity to turn a page exists in the whole region. I choose to be optimistic,” the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

TRUMP’S ME ENVOY: US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy said on Wednesday he would travel to the region to be part of what he described as an inspection team deployed in and along the Gaza Strip to ensure ceasefire compliance.

In an interview with Fox News, the envoy, Steve Witkoff, also said he believed all countries in the region could get “on board” to normalise ties with Israel. Asked to identify specific countries, he singled out Qatar, saying the Gulf country was a critical player in reaching the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Witkoff told Fox that implementation of the deal, which took effect on Sunday, would be more difficult than its execution.

Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings and houses destroyed during the Israeli offensive in Jabalia, Gaza, on Wednesday. Reuters

“I’m actually going to be going over to Israel. I’m going to be part of an inspection team at the Netzarim corridor, and also at the Philadelphi corridor,” Witkoff said.

Netzarim is an east-west strip Israel cleared during the war that prevents Palestinians’ free movement between north and south Gaza. Philadelphia is a narrow border strip between Gaza and Egypt.

“That’s where you have outside overseers, sort of making sure that people are safe and people who are entering are not armed and no one has bad motivations,” Witkoff added.

GAZA-EGYPT CROSSING: Israel said it will maintain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas.

A statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday denied reports that the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would control the crossing.

The statement said European Union monitors would supervise the crossing, which will be surrounded by Israeli troops. Israel also will approve the movement of all people and goods.

It said local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas who had been vetted by Israeli security would merely stamp passports at the crossing.

It noted that, under international agreements, this stamp “is the only way Gazans may leave the Strip in order to enter, or be received in, other countries.”

JENIN RAID: Gunfire and explosions rocked the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday as the Israeli military kept up a large-scale raid for a second day.

The operation, launched just days after a ceasefire paused more than a year of fighting in Gaza, has left at least 10 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health authorities.

“The situation is very difficult,” Jenin governor Kamal Abu Al Rub told journalists.

“The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to Jenin camp and to the Jenin government hospital... There is shooting and explosions,” he added, referring to the Israeli military.

Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said.

AID TRUCKS: The UN humanitarian coordinator in Gaza says trucks from the UN, aid groups, governments and the private sector are arriving and no major looting has been reported - just a few minor incidents.

Nearly 900 trucks of aid entered Gaza on the third day of the ceasefire on Tuesday, the United Nations said. That’s significantly higher than the 600 trucks called for in the deal.

Muhannad Hadi, who returned to Jerusalem from Gaza on Tuesday afternoon, told UN reporters by video that it was one of the happiest days of his 35-year humanitarian career to see Palestinians in the streets looking ahead with hope, some heading home and some starting to clean up the roads.

HAMAS BACK ON STREETS: After more than a year hiding in tunnels and dodging air strikes, uniformed Hamas fighters returned to the ruined streets of Gaza hours into a ceasefire, defying Israel’s vow to crush them.

With the world watching on Sunday as Hamas handed over three Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, dozens of balaclava-wearing fighters in the group’s signature green headbands were seen at the packed Gaza City square marshalling the chaotic events.

Agencies