The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Social Affairs Sector – Women's Department) is holding a regional dialogue session on 10 November via a digital platform, entitled "Starvation as a Weapon of War: The Israeli Siege and Aggression and its Repercussions on Women in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territories." The session is part of the implementation of the Emergency Committee's Action Plan for the Protection of Women during Armed Conflicts in the Arab Region (2025–2028), adopted by the Ministerial-Level Committee on Women at its 44th session in 2025, in cooperation with the Ministry of Women's Affairs of the State of Palestine and the UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States.
The session comes at a critical time, amid an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, following more than two years of aggression and a siege that has turned starvation into a systematic weapon of war targeting civilians—particularly women and girls—resulting in catastrophic conditions that threaten the food, health, and psychological security of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families.
The session aims to shed light on the humanitarian, social, and psychological repercussions of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, examine the legal dimensions of this crime, promote Arab and international coordination to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid that addresses the specific needs of affected women and girls, and mobilise international solidarity to lift the siege.
The session programme includes opening remarks by Her Excellency Ms. Mona Al-Khalili, Minister of Women's Affairs of the State of Palestine; Her Excellency Dr. Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity and Vice President of the Egyptian Red Crescent; His Excellency Dr. Moez Doraid, Regional Director of UN Women for the Arab States; and Minister Plenipotentiary Doaa Fouad Khalifa, Director of the Women's Department at the League of Arab States.
The dialogue session also features a keynote address by Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Yasmine Moussa, Legal Advisor at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, on the legal dimensions of starvation as a war crime and mechanisms for legal accountability. Additional remarks are delivered by Her Excellency Counsellor Amal Ammar, President of the National Council for Women of the Arab Republic of Egypt; His Excellency Ambassador Erik Husem, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Arab Republic of Egypt; and speakers from UN humanitarian and relief organizations and agencies.
Participants in the session include members of the Emergency Committee, representatives of national mechanisms concerned with women's affairs in Arab countries, relevant civil society organisations, and representatives of diplomatic missions.
The League of Arab States established the Emergency Committee as one of the mechanisms supporting the implementation of the Women,Peace, and Security agenda. The Women's Affairs Department serves as the committee's technical secretariat.
Through this session, the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States reaffirms its unwavering commitment to supporting the rights of women and girls in Palestine under Israeli occupation, thereby strengthening a just and comprehensive humanitarian response and safeguarding their dignity in the face of ongoing policies of aggression and starvation.
