Arab and Muslim leaders call for immediate end to Gaza war
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.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, gathered Arab and Muslim leaders for the summit as the kingdom has sought to exert its influence to press the United States and Israel for an end to hostilities in Gaza.
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, who was welcomed back into the Arab League earlier this year, 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.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Palestinians are facing a «genocidal war» and called on the United States to end Israeli «aggression».
As he headed to Riyadh, Raisi said it was time for action over the conflict rather than talk.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news site said Raisi will propose that Muslim countries ban Israel from using their airspace and prevent the U.S. from shipping weapons to Israel from its military bases in the region.
The Middle East has been on edge since Hamas fighters rampaged into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people.
Since then, Israel has escalated its assault on Gaza, where 11,078 people had been
