"A sum of 40,000 houses have been targeted in Gaza in the Israeli attacks in the last month, out of which over 23,000 have been nearly destroyed and 17,000 have been completely annihilated," Zarif said, addressing the closing ceremony of the ministerial emergency meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Palestine Committee here in Tehran on Monday evening.
The Iranian foreign minister pointed to his phone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on the dispatch of medicine and foodstuff to the people of Gaza, and said, "Other contacts at other levels have also been made and today Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had some detailed talks with his Egyptian counterpart in the same regard."
He expressed the hope that the Egyptian government would help the people of Gaza find access to medicine and the Palestinian patients and injured Gazans, who are mostly children and exposed to serious risks, be transferred to Iran for treatment.
Zarif, however, said that Iran has not received resolute response from the Egyptian side, "although the Egyptian foreign minister has promised twice that he will do his best in this regard and we hope to see results."
The Iranian foreign minister also hoped that the NAM members could implement the proposals and programs that they have agreed upon in today's meeting in Tehran, and said, "I hope we will witness a coordinated move in support of the Islamic resistance."
Zarif further blasted the UN Security Council for not complying with its duties, and said, "The Security Council should avoid leaving a stained record behind itself any further."
Earlier today, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said Tehran is resolved to dispatch humanitarian aid to the displaced people in the Gaza Strip and is in close contact with Cairo to pave the way to this end.
"Sending humanitarian aid to Gaza must be coordinated with the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and the Egyptian government, but the permissions needed to do so have not been issued thus far," Seyed Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the end of NAM Palestine Committee's emergency meeting in Tehran.
Araqchi, who is also Zarif's Deputy for aiding Gazans, pointed out that the ministry continues contacting Cairo officials to explore new avenues for aiding Gazans with Iran's aid.
The foreign ministers of NAM kicked off an emergency meeting of the block's Palestine Committee in Tehran on Monday to discuss the aggravating conditions of the people in the Gaza Strip.
The one-day meeting of the NAM's Palestine Committee was also addressed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. 50 NAM member states had sent their representatives to Tehran to participate in the meeting, 8 of them at ministerial level.
The NAM is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries.
The NAM Palestine Committee is comprised of 13 countries, namely, Palestine, Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Colombia and Cuba.
Iran received the NAM rotating presidency in 2012.
The Palestinian death toll in Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has now reached nearly 1,822, with over 10,000 people injured. Most of the casualties have been civilians, including a large number of women and children.
Meantime, over 520,000 of Gazans, nearly one out of four, have been displaced as a result of the recent aggressions made by Israeli forces against the besieged enclave.
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