OIC meets in Jeddah to discuss Gaza war and Haniyeh's assassination

Foreign ministers condemn 'heinous' killing of Hamas chief in Tehran

Displaced Palestinians sit beneath a tent damaged in an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, on Wednesday. Reuters

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The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation held a meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Wednesday warning of a regional conflict amid mounting fear that the war in Gaza could spread to Lebanon.

The executive committee meeting, attended by regional foreign ministers, was called “in response to the ongoing atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip”, the organisation said.

The OIC said the Islamic world is currently at a “critical junction,” with the situation threatening “to unravel decades of diplomatic efforts and plunge our world into deeper conflict".

Recent events in Gaza and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh mark a “significant escalation”, said Mamadou Tangara, Foreign Minister of Gambia.

He also warned of further regional conflict as a consequence of Mr Haniyeh's killing.

“The aggression and violation of the sovereignty of Iran … by the assassination of a political leader is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation, and is a heinous act that only serves to escalate conflict across the entire region.”

The killing of Mr Haniyeh in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, drew threats of revenge from Iran against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ismail Haniyeh, left, with Yahya Sinwar at a rally in Gaza city to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, in December 2017. EPA

OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha said Israel “stops at nothing in breaking every international law and resolution” and described Mr Haniyeh's assassination as a “flagrant violation” of international law and the UN charter.

The UN Security Council must “take necessary measures to compel Israel, the occupying power, to respect the rule of international law and stop its aggression and attacks that threaten regional and international peace,” said Mr Taha. He warned there was a risk of “full-scale regional war” that would endanger the entire region.

Senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr was assassinated in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut just hours before the Tehran strike that killed Mr Haniyeh, stoking fears that the conflict in Gaza is turning into a wider Middle East war.

Iran said the US bore responsibility for the assassination of Mr Haniyeh because it supports Israel.

The OIC also condemned the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and said its consequences will be felt across the Middle East and the wider international community.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October, according to figures from the enclave's Health Ministry.

Another 620 have been killed in the occupied West Bank, taking the total Palestinian death toll to more than 40,000.

On Tuesday, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, the man Israel accuses of planning the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war, as its new political chief.

The attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and saw about 240 taken hostage.

Mr Sinwar has been in hiding in the besieged Palestinian enclave, defying Israeli attempts to kill him since the start of the war.

He is Israel's most-wanted man, with a bounty of $400,000 on his head.

Mr Haniyeh, who lived in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019, played a direct role in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

About 111 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 the military says are dead.