KUWAIT CITY, May 13: In a significant move, international donors have pledged more than $2 billion in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip during a conference held in Kuwait on Sunday. The conference, organized by the International Islamic Charitable Organisation (IICO) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), aimed to shed light on the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave.

According to IICO general manager Bader Saud Al-Sumait, the conference's recommendations included launching a worldwide humanitarian appeal "for urgent intervention to stop the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza." The funds, he pointed out, will be dispersed in 2024 and 2025.

The conference also called on the UN and other humanitarian agencies and organizations to begin early planning for a comprehensive and extended operation to strengthen interventions and early recovery in the Gaza Strip over the next five years.

During the past two days, the Israeli occupation forces have expanded their operations and attacks across the Gaza Strip, especially in the city of Rafah, where over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel in October. The war, ostensibly aimed at destroying the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas after its 7 October attack on southern Israel, has resulted in the deaths of at least 35,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, and the wounding of 70,000 more.

The occupation state stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which it denies. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. South Africa, which took the apartheid state to the ICJ, has since claimed that Israel is ignoring the court's ruling. The pledged aid comes at a critical time for the people of Gaza, who have been facing a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, as well as the devastating effects of the ongoing conflict. The international community's support is crucial in addressing the humanitarian crisis and providing much-needed relief to the people of Gaza.