Saudi Arabia to Host Meeting to Address Israeli War on Gaza

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia will host a summit of countries in which Arab leaders will discuss addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ways to prevent the crisis from expanding throughout the Middle East.

RELATED:

Twelve Gazan Children With Cancer Leave for Egypt and Jordan

Requested from the Arab League last week, this high-level summit occurs amid the barrage of complaints about the violations of international law that Israel has been incessantly committing against the Palestinians in Gaza since October 7.

Since that date, Israeli bombings have killed 11,078 people, including 4,506 children, 3,027 women, and 678 elderly people, according to the latest count by the Gaza-based Health Ministry, which also reported that the Israeli occupation army's offensive on Gaza has left 27,490 people with injuries of varying severity.

The heads of state of 22 countries that make up the Arab organization have been summoned by Saudi Arabia, which has held preparatory meetings at the level of foreign ministers to define the main issues to be discussed and agree on a common action plan.

The emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will be present at the meeting, whose country is leading mediation between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas for humanitarian truces in exchange for the release of hostages.

On Friday, Al Thani was received by the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Salmán, who has harshly criticized Israel despite the fact that both countries were carrying out a process of normalizing diplomatic relations before October 7.

The leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will also be present at the summit, two countries that established ties with Israel in 2020 and that have issued harsh condemnations against the incessant Israeli bombings and the military campaign. So far, however, these criticisms have not affected diplomatic relations with the Zionist state.

Presidents Bashar al Assad (Syria), Abdellatif Rashid (Iraq), Rashad al Alimi (Yemen) will also be present at the summit. Their participation becomes relevant given that their countries are being affected and involved by the conflict in Gaza.

In the early hours of Friday, Israeli planes bombed the Al Shifa, Awdah, and Al Rantisi hospitals in Gaza. The Israeli aggression left six dead and large fires both inside and outside the medical facilities.

The bombing was accompanied by military ground actions that targeted the defenseless Palestinians who were seeking refuge inside or around the hospitals.

A few hours later, the director of Al Shifa Hospital reported that Israeli bombings against the Al Buraq school killed about 50 people, most of whom were Palestinian girls.