Arab, Muslim Leaders Call for Immediate End to Gaza War

Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting.  (Photo by SPA)
Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting. (Photo by SPA)
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Arab, Muslim Leaders Call for Immediate End to Gaza War

Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting.  (Photo by SPA)
Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting. (Photo by SPA)

Saudi Arabia and Muslim countries called on Saturday for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, declaring at a joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh that Israel bears responsibility for "crimes" against Palestinians.

Dozens of leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attended the meeting.

Prince Mohammed said the kingdom affirms its "condemnation and categorical rejection of this barbaric war against our brothers in Palestine".

"We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe that proves the failure of the Security Council and the international community to put an end to the flagrant Israeli violations of international laws," he said in an address to the summit.

Fighting intensified overnight into Saturday near Gaza City's overcrowded hospitals, Palestinian officials said.

A baby died in an incubator at Gaza's largest hospital after it lost power, and a patient in intensive care was killed by an Israeli shell, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The war has upended traditional Middle East alliances as Riyadh has engaged more closely with Iran, pushed back against US pressure to condemn Hamas and put on hold its plans to normalise ties with Israel.

Erdogan called for an international peace conference to find a permanent solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

"What we need in Gaza is not pauses for a couple of hours, rather we need a permanent ceasefire," Erdogan told the summit.

The kingdom had been scheduled to host two extraordinary summits, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, on Saturday and Sunday. The joint summit will replace the two gatherings in light of the "extraordinary" Gaza situation, the Saudi Foreign ministry said.

Hamas called on the summit to take "a historic and decisive decision and move to stop the Zionist aggression immediately".

"We call on Arab and Muslim leaders ... to put pressure on the American administration, which bears direct responsibility in the genocidal war that our people are facing in the Gaza Strip," a statement from the Palestinian militant group said.



Saudi Crown Prince, Iraqi Prime Minister Discuss Developments in Syria

Iraq's Prime Minister in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Photo by SPA
Iraq's Prime Minister in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Photo by SPA
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Saudi Crown Prince, Iraqi Prime Minister Discuss Developments in Syria

Iraq's Prime Minister in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Photo by SPA
Iraq's Prime Minister in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Photo by SPA

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani discussed developments in Syria at a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

This came during al-Sudani's visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, his office said.

Sudani emphasized "Iraq's keenness on the unity of Syria, non-interference in internal affairs, and respect for the free will of the Syrians."

The two sides also reviewed bilateral ties and ways to strengthen relations between the two countries.