GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi has welcomed the steps taken by Hamas in response to US President Donald Trump's Gaza proposal while stressing on the importance of strengthening Gulf integration to confront accelerating global changes.
The proposal includes the release of all alive and deceased Israeli hostages within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting the agreement.
In a statement, Al-Budaiwi further supported international and regional efforts to end the crisis in the Gaza Strip, adding on the need to reach a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire agreement, and alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians in the Strip.
He also affirmed the GCC's firm position on establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In efforts to strengthen collective collaboration, Al-Budaiwi further emphasised the need to expedite the legislation required to remove obstacles hindering progress in support of GCC cooperation during the 26th meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with following up on joint action decisions in Kuwait on Sunday.
He also praised recent achievements, notably advances in the customs union and steps toward completing the GCC common market, describing them as milestones that will significantly enhance member states’ economies and support diversification efforts.
The US military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a new US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Two cases of the deadly hantavirus have been confirmed, and five more are suspected among people who were on a luxury cruise ship now held in the Atlantic near Cape Verde, the World Health Organisation said in its most detailed update on the outbreak.
President Vladimir Putin has declared on Monday a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8-9 to mark Russia’s World War Two victory, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy countered with his own proposed pause in fighting starting earlier, on the night of May 5‑6.
A blast at a fireworks factory in China has killed at least 26 people and injured 61, flattening buildings and sending towering clouds of smoke into the sky, and prompting President Xi Jinping to order a thorough investigation, state media reported on Tuesday.
A small airplane with five occupants crashed into a building on Monday in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeastern Brazil, killing three people, local officials and firefighters said.