Arab and Islamic countries on Thursday condemned what they described as ongoing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, warning that the attacks threatened efforts to implement the second phase of the internationally backed plan to end the war.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia denounced Israeli strikes on healthcare facilities and civilian sites, as well as the continued killing of civilians. They said the attacks violated international law.
At least 1,230 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli strikes since the Gaza peace plan backed by US President Donald Trump was agreed in October, according to Gaza health authorities. Hamas does not disclose its fatalities. Four Israeli soldiers were killed over the same period, according to Israeli authorities.
At least 20 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza on Sunday and Monday.
The foreign ministers said the continued violations undermined international and regional efforts to implement the second phase of the ceasefire, particularly after Mr Trump announced that Palestinian factions had accepted a road map for disarmament.
The situation risks derailing the political process, reigniting escalation and worsening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the ministers said.
They emphasised that protecting civilians, safeguarding medical facilities and aid workers, and ensuring aid delivery throughout Gaza were legal obligations that “must not be compromised under any circumstances”.
The ministers also linked the situation in Gaza to Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks in the occupied West Bank and what they described as unilateral measures in occupied East Jerusalem, accusing Israel of pursuing a systematic policy aimed at undermining the two-state solution.
They reiterated their rejection of any attempt to annex occupied Palestinian territory, impose Israeli sovereignty over it or forcibly displace Palestinians. They said a lasting peace could only be achieved through a political process leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Gaza war was triggered by a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants killed nearly 1,200 people and took about 250 as hostages.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed so far and Israel's military response to the 2023 attack has left most of the territory in ruin. The majority of Gaza's two million residents have been displaced and now live on a narrow area by the enclave's Mediterranean coast.
