UAE condemns Israeli minister's comments about dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza Strip

Saudi Arabia and Arab Parliament also criticise the remarks and hit out at international community's 'shameful silence'

This picture taken from a position near Sderot along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on November 5, 2023, shows flares dropped by Israeli forces above the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)Show less

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

The UAE has condemned comments by Israeli Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu about dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip.

Mr Eliyahu made the remarks on Sunday as he spoke about the options available to Israel.

He was later suspended from cabinet meetings, but his comments caused international outrage, with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs issuing its condemnation through state news agency Wam.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms the UAE’s categorical rejection of the threat of using nuclear weapons,” it said.

“The UAE stresses that the immediate priority is to preserve the lives of civilians and provide them with necessary humanitarian assistance.”

The ministry also called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life.

It emphasised the importance of protecting civilians according to international law, including international treaties, and the need to ensure they are not targets during conflict.

“The UAE calls on the international community to intensify efforts to avoid further fuelling the situation in the occupied Palestinian Territory, and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace, while preventing the region from being drawn into new levels of violence, tension and instability,” the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia also denounces comments

But Mr Eliyahu's suspension was not enough, according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, which said his statement showed “the extent of extremism and brutality among members of the Israeli government”.

“Not dismissing the minister from the government immediately and sufficing with freezing his membership reflects the level of indifference in all humanitarian, moral, religious and legal standards and values in the Israeli government,” state news agency SPA reported, quoting the ministry.

The Arab Parliament also condemned Mr Eliyahu's remarks.

“The oppressive occupying force would not have been able to commit such criminal acts and threaten to use weapons of mass destruction if it were not for the shameful silence that still prevails in the international community,” said the assembly, SPA reported.

“This silence persists despite the genocidal and racist war waged by the occupying force against the Palestinian people.

“Moreover, the AP calls on the International Atomic Energy Agency to fulfil its international responsibilities, condemn these statements as an official acknowledgement by the occupation Israeli government of its possession of nuclear weapons, and officially record it.”

About 9,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,400 people and taking at least 240 others hostage.

The latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures

Palestinians cry as they walk away after an area hit by Israeli missiles in Rafah, the Gaza Strip. AP

Palestinians with foreign passports wait for permission to leave Gaza at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Reuters

A Palestinian boy pushes a man on a wheelchair past debris in Rafah. AFP

A paramedic holds an injured bird as he searches through buildings destroyed during Israeli air raids in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Getty Images

Israeli soldiers take part in ground operations at a location given as Gaza. Reuters

A man listens for any potential sounds of life following an Israeli air strike on the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. AFP

People flee after Israeli air strikes on the Maghazi refugee camp. AFP

An Israeli soldier arranges artillery shells near the border with the Gaza Strip. AFP

Relatives and friends of those kidnapped during the October 7 Hamas attack hold photos of their loved ones during a protest calling for their return outside Israel's parliament. AP

Israeli flares illuminate the sky over west Gaza in the northern Gaza Strip. EPA

Smoke rises from northern Gaza after Israeli pounded the besieged enclave. AFP

Ambulances queue at the Rafah border as they wait to cross into Gaza to transport the injured back to Egypt for treatment. Getty Images

Women cry as one of them holds an injured toddler outside Shuhada Al Aqsa hospital after an Israeli bombardment of Deir Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. AFP

Displaced Palestinian children sit in a makeshift shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the Israel-Gaza war. Reuters

Israeli soldiers patrol outside a house destroyed during fighting with Hamas militants, in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza. Bloomberg

Palestinians from Bureij refugee camp use Salah Al Din street as they flee the southern Gaza Strip. AP

Palestinian children clean up outside their home after Israel struck Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. AP

Khan Younis residents search through buildings destroyed during Israeli air raids. Getty Images

People take part in a candlelight vigil in Dizengoff Square, in Tel Aviv. Getty Images

Demonstrators rally in support of Palestinians in Denver, Colorado. AFP

Galya David, the mother of hostage Evyatar David, takes part in the 'Bring them home' event organised by the Greek Israeli Community in Athens. EPA

Lebanese parademics show the blood-stained high-vis jackets of four of their colleagues wounded after their ambulances were hit in a strike on the Lebanese town of Tayr Harfa. AFP

Flares are dropped by Israeli forces above Gaza, as seen from Sderot, near the border with the Palestinian enclave. AFP

Israeli forces at a position along the the border with Gaza. AFP

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors at Magazi refugee camp in Gaza after an Israeli air strike. Reuters

Leaflets are dropped by the Israeli army over Gaza city asking people to evacuate towards the south of the Palestinian enclave. AFP

An injured toddler awaits treatment at the emergency ward of Al-Shifa Hospital following an Israeli strike, in Gaza city. AFP

A Palestinian man wails amid a search for casualties after an Israeli strike on houses, at Magazi refugee camp, Gaza. Reuters

Anadolu news agency cameraman Mohammed El Aloul pictured after several of his children and siblings were killed in Israeli strikes. Reuters

Israeli soldiers walk past debris and damaged buildings at a location given as Gaza by Israel's military. Reuters

Protesters rally outside the White House in support of Palestinians in Gaza, Washington. Reuters

A man mourns after losing relatives following an Israeli air strike in Gaza city. AP

An art installation of prams with the faces of kidnapped children on display in Tel Aviv. Getty Images

An Israeli woman calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. AP

A Palestinian man stands on a collapsed building following a strike by the Israeli military on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinians gather at the site of Israeli strikes on a residential building in Khan Younis. Reuters

Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023. AFP

A Palestinian woman sits in the rubble as rescuers look for her relatives following the Israeli bombardment of Khan Younis. AFP

Smoke rises from Gaza as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas continues. Reuters

Mourners at the funeral of Druze Israeli Lt Col Salman Habaka in the village of Yanuh Jat, northern Israel. AP

A Palestinian boy pulled from the rubble of a building following an Israeli air attack on Bureij refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip. AP

A survivor calls from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis following Israeli air attacks. EPA

People wait on the Egyptian side of the border after passing the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. EPA

Pro-Palestinian supporters during a demonstration near a US military transport vessel at the Port of Oakland in California. AP