The Global Peace Summit (GPS) launched the Palestine Cabinet Mission in July 2024 as a focused, global diplomatic effort to secure immediate relief for Gaza, especially for women and children, by unlocking access to humanitarian aid and care. It framed the initiative around “Actions Beyond Words,” with an immediate plan to enable safe passage for critical cases, establish a humanitarian corridor, and build field hospitals on the Gaza–Egypt border. The Mission’s public diplomacy began with convening the First Diplomatic Round Table Conference in Islamabad on October 3, 2024, to assemble legal experts, diplomats, and security analysts and to build operational consensus for the corridor and medical evacuations.
Main aims and objectives of the Palestine Cabinet Mission
- Create a humanitarian corridor to restore the aid supply chain into Gaza, enabling entry of medical supplies and safe movement for critical cases.
- Establish emergency field hospitals at the Rafah–Egypt border with diplomatic, financial, and logistical backing from multiple governments, and operational cooperation with PRCS, UNRWA, and IFRC.
- Facilitate safe passage for major surgeries; protect orphaned children and asylum seekers; and coordinate evacuations to friendly countries including Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Malaysia, China, Egypt, Spain, and South Africa.
- Secure the future through education by facilitating scholarships and placements for Gaza’s students abroad, particularly in Pakistan, so they can rebuild their communities with skills and stability.
Diplomatic outreach and meetings inviting states and officials to join
The Mission’s leadership pursued targeted outreach with senior diplomats and government representatives. Highlights include the Chairman’s engagement with the High Commissioner of South Africa on the Mission’s agenda, and a strategic planning discussion with H.E. Nader K. Alturk, Chargé d’affaires of the State of Palestine to Pakistan, focused on immediate actions for the corridor and medical support.
The following priority steps were proposed during the first phase of the Palestine Cabinet Mission:
- With a strategic and channeled diplomatic effort involving Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Malaysia, China, Egypt, Spain, and South Africa, along with other countries willing to help, ensure a safe humanitarian corridor for the evacuation and rehabilitation of the most vulnerable population — the women & children of Gaza to well-equipped Field Hospitals at the Rafah-Egypt border.
- Enure the entry of Aid and build emergency Field Hospitals at the Rafah-Egypt borders with diplomatic, financial, and logistical assistance from multiple governments and operational help from PRCS, UNRWA, and IFRC, which have a proven recordof rescue and relief missions in Gaza.
- Create consensus to organize and facilitate the safe evacuation of vulnerable populations from Gaza to friendly countries: Qatar, Pakistan, Turkiye, Malaysia, China, Egypt, Spain, and South Africa, along with other countries willing to provide safe passage for major surgeries, medical supplies, and for protection of orphan children and asylum seekers.
Outcome of the Islamabad Round Table Conference (as part of the Mission)
The “First Round Table on Humanitarian Cooperation on the Gaza Crisis” hosted international law experts, diplomats, defense analysts, government officials, policy-makers, and ex-military personnel in Islamabad, Pakistan on October 3rd, 2024.
The Islamabad RTC underscored the urgent need for international action to alleviate Gaza’s hospital collapse and aid blockades. Dr. Yousif Fouzi (General Manager, European Gaza Hospital) and Dr. Harry Sholi (Director, PRCS Hospital in Egypt) detailed how medical points were shutting down and capacities were overwhelmed. David Swanson (Executive Director, World Beyond War) called for halting military aid and condemned starvation tactics; Dr. Aneel Salman (IPRI Chair Economic Security) warned of global economic spillovers, including oil-price surges. Former ambassadors noted that electoral politics elsewhere were slowing decisive responses despite rising global sympathy for Palestinians. Together, these inputs reinforced GPS’s plan for a humanitarian corridor, medical evacuations, and cross-border field care.
Participants included: Ms. Laila Bal’Mahdi (Voices Against Torture); Dr. Yousif Fouzi (European Gaza Hospital); Dr. Harry Sholi (PRCS Hospital in Egypt); Dr. Enrique Rafaylo (Spanish Political Analyst); Prof. Alexander Lawson (International Law Expert); Prof. Ramsey Hanhan (Palestinian American Author); Mr. Shaikh Mahmud bin Ilyas (Founder & Chairman, GPS); Amb. Ali Sarwar Naqvi (Executive Director, CISS); Maj. Gen. (R) Raza Muhammad (President, IPRI); Brig. (R) Said Nizam (Defense & Security Analyst, IPS); Amb. Abrar Hussain (Sr. Research Associate, IPS); Maj. Gen. (R) Zahid Mehmood (Defense Analyst); Dr. Aneel Salman (IPRI Chair Economic Security); Brig. (R) Sohzab Majeed (International Law Expert); Ms. Hager Abdellatif (Political Officer, Embassy of Egypt); Mr. Syed Muaz Shah (Arbitration Expert); Mr. David Swanson (Exec. Director, World Beyond War); Mr. Robert Fantina (Board Director, World Beyond War).
Key takeaways from the Islamabad Rountable Conference:
- The RTC highlighted the urgent need to address the Israeliaggression in Gaza, where hospitals are collapsing due to medical supply blockades, as emphasized by Dr. Yousif Fouziand Harry Sholy. Participants called for immediate international action to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
- It highlighted the wider geopolitical andeconomic ramifications of the ongoing Gaza crisis. David Swanson condemned Israel’s use of tactics like starvationand called for halting military aid, emphasizing that globalinaction worsens the situation. Economist Dr. Aneel Salman warned of the crisis’s impact on global markets, particularlythe surge in oil prices. Former ambassadors speculated thatpolitical factors, such as the U.S. election cycle, are delayingstronger international responses, despite mounting international sympathy for Palestinians. These delays hinder meaningful intervention and escalate global economic risks.
Engagements at the Doha Forum 2024
At the Doha Forum (December 7–8, 2024), the GPS delegation pressed for upholding ICC directives, implementing UN resolutions, and launching a structured mediation initiative to convene key stakeholders on ceasefire enforcement, aid delivery, and Gaza’s reconstruction. GPS’s direct engagements included: Majed Mohammed Al-Ansari (Spokesperson, Qatar MFA); Mohammad Baharoon (Director General, Dubai Policy & Research Centre); Barrister Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh (Matrix Chambers); Omer Suleiman (American Islamic scholar and civil rights activist); Mustafa Barghouti (Member, Palestinian Legislative Council); Ambassador of Spain; Ambassador of Turkiye; Ambassador of Ukraine; and several other high-profile government officials. These talks strengthened pathways for corridor access, medical deployments, and legal-diplomatic coordination.
Key takeaways from the Doha Forum dialogue:
- The discussions underscored the critical need for global collaboration to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the Gaza War. The delegation highlighted the severe consequences of failing to uphold the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) directives and implement United Nations resolutions alongside international law.
- As part of their participation, the Global Peace Summit delegation proposed a structured mediation initiative on the Gaza crisis during the Doha Forum. The initiative brought together key stakeholders to create a framework for sustainable peace. By leveraging its vast network of legal, humanitarian, and diplomatic experts, the GPS aimed to facilitate dialogue and address critical issues such as ceasefire enforcement, humanitarian aid delivery, and the rebuilding of Gaza.
The forward path and ongoing efforts
Building on the RTC and Doha tracks, GPS is advancing a phased execution plan:
- Humanitarian corridors via Qatar, Egypt, and Pakistan to move aid safely into Gaza.
- Deployment of mobile hospitals and medical teams, in cooperation with PRCS and international medical NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders, to deliver immediate care inside Gaza.
- Medical evacuations of critical patients through the corridor for treatment in Pakistan and other friendly countries.
- Education pipelines, scholarships and placements, for Gaza’s students to ensure long-term recovery and capacity building.
These are anchored by a logistics concept developed with PRCS, IFRC, and UNRWA for transport, storage, and distribution of medical supplies, and rapid field-hospital operationalization using existing infrastructure.
The people and partners involved
GPS Delegation:
– Shaikh Mahmud bin Ilyas, Founder & Chairman, Global Peace Summit.
– Syed Muaz Shah, Director Arbitration, GPS.
– Shozab Majeed, Executive Director, GPS.
– Robert Fantina, Board member/author and peace advocate.
– Laila Bal’ Mahdi, Academic writer, researcher; human-rights advocate.
– Asoomii Jay, Humanitarian aid worker; human-rights defender.
Operational and institutional partners: PRCS, UNRWA, IFRC, and (for mobile clinical deployments) Doctors Without Borders, with cooperating governments invited across Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkiye, Malaysia, China, Spain, and South Africa to support corridor access, field hospitals, evacuations, and education pathways.
The Mission responds to a documented humanitarian catastrophe, 120,000+ wounded; 58,000+ killed; ~2.1 million displaced, and widespread disease burdens identified by the WHO, alongside the closure of Rafah and repeated shutdowns of medical points across Gaza and Rafah. These realities shaped GPS’s immediate action plan for corridors, field hospitals, and evacuations.
