Islamic Foreign Ministers Call for Ceasefire in Gaza During Visit to China

Foreign ministers from several Arab and Islamic countries called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday in Beijing. This request marks the first stage of a diplomatic tour by this delegation aimed at pressuring for an end to the conflict in Gaza and allowing humanitarian aid into the region. According to a Reuters report, this delegation is set to meet with officials from each of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, also pressuring the West to reject Israel's justification of its actions against Palestinians as self-defense. The armed Palestinian group Hamas, which is supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, launched a sudden attack on October 6, targeting residential areas and a concert venue in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages to Gaza. In response to this shocking attack, Israel has launched an offensive on Gaza to eliminate Hamas's presence. The United States, the European Union, and Japan have designated the Iran-backed militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization. Officials meeting on Monday with Wang Yi, China's senior diplomat, include representatives from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, and Palestinian officials. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Saudi Foreign Minister, stated, 'We are here to send a clear signal: that war and killing must be stopped immediately, and we must urgently deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza.' A joint extraordinary meeting of the leaders of Islamic and Arab states in Riyadh this month also called on the International Criminal Court to investigate what it termed 'war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel' in Palestinian territories. Saudi Arabia has been seeking to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end hostilities in Gaza. Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, gathered Arab and Muslim leaders to strengthen this message. The presence of Arab and Muslim officials in China comes as Chinese companies have a significant presence in Israel, and it seems these countries are asking China to exert pressure on Israel. Images from surveillance cameras showing the transfer of Israeli hostages to Shifa Hospital by Hamas were released, and premature infants from Gaza were transferred to Egypt.