Saudi Arabia Hosts Extraordinary Summit on Israel-Gaza War
Riyadh will host leaders from Iran, Turkey, Syria, and other countries to discuss the Israel-Gaza war in an extraordinary summit, the kingdom’s foreign ministry announced on Friday.
The joint meeting, which is set for Saturday, emerged as a replacement after Saudi Arabia decided to host a single summit instead of two separate summits for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League.
According to the ministry, the summit will address the worsening situation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip and aim to unify efforts and come out with a collective position in response to the exceptional circumstances.
The OIC includes member states from across the Islamic world, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is also expected to attend the meeting in Riyadh, marking a first visit by an Iranian president in 11 years.
Before departing for Riyadh, President Raisi emphasized the urgency of the situation in Gaza, stating, “The atrocities that are now being committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza are clear examples of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Israel has faced mounting pressure from the Arab and Islamic worlds to put an immediate end to its attacks on the Gaza Strip. The non-stop air strikes and ground assaults in response to an attack by Hamas have resulted in the deaths of at least 11,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
The upcoming summit aims to demonstrate unity in stopping the aggression, supporting Palestine and its people, condemning the Israeli occupation, and holding it accountable for its crimes.
This extraordinary joint summit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity across the region and beyond, with leaders convening in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, to discuss the situation in Gaza.
The international community continues to closely monitor the escalating conflict in Gaza, with hopes that diplomatic efforts and unified positions from world leaders will pave the way for a peaceful resolution to the crisis.