Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has pledged $40 million to support rebuilding efforts in Gaza and Lebanon—two places still reeling from conflict and loss. The announcement came Saturday at the Arab League summit in Baghdad, as images and reports of destruction in Gaza sparked a renewed call for solidarity in the region.
The pledge follows a new Israeli military campaign in Gaza—codenamed Operation Gideon’s Chariots—which the Israeli army described as a series of “extensive strikes.” At least 140 Palestinians have reportedly been killed, with many more wounded or missing. Residential buildings, streets, and entire neighborhoods have once again turned to rubble.
The $40 million will go toward reconstruction—though exact details haven’t been shared. Iraqi officials say the priority is basic infrastructure: homes, schools, hospitals. Places where life might one day feel normal again.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has deepened with every new wave of violence. What makes this round especially painful, some say, is how routine it has become. Bombings, silence, debris, and then the long, slow rebuild. Again and again.
“The operation was part of the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war’s objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas,” the army said in a post in Arabic.
A separate statement in English also indicated that the army was “mobilising troops to achieve operational control in areas of the Gaza Strip”.
According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, Israeli strikes on Gaza had killed 100 people on Friday, but by Saturday, the army said its forces had “struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in 24 hours.
However, speaking at the Arab summit on Saturday, Iraq’s Prime Minister announced an Arab Solidarity Fund for the rebuilding of the bombed Palestinian cities.
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Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, clarified on Saturday that the country’s $40 million aid package will be split evenly—$20 million each to support reconstruction efforts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The announcement came as Arab leaders gathered in Baghdad for a tense and emotionally charged summit, grappling with the deepening crisis in the Palestinian territories. According to multiple reports, leaders urged the need for a unified national agenda in Palestine, calling it essential to ending the prolonged state of conflict.
By the end of the summit, a joint communiqué was issued: a call for an immediate halt to the bloodshed in Gaza and a plea to the international community to step in—not just with words, but with meaningful support.
The backdrop is grim. Israel resumed its military operations in Gaza on March 18, ending a fragile two-month truce in its ongoing war with Hamas. The conflict, which reignited after Hamas launched a deadly attack in October 2023, has shown few signs of winding down.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government continues to face mounting pressure over its strict blockade of Gaza, which has effectively cut off access to food, fuel, clean water, and medical supplies. Humanitarian groups on the ground warn that the territory is slipping into catastrophe, with every passing day widening the gulf between survival and collapse.