Saudi Crown Prince: Israeli Attacks on Gaza Violate Humanitarian Laws

Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, at a meeting of African Union member states in Riyadh, deemed Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip as a violation of international humanitarian laws and condemned them strongly. Bin Salman stated, "We condemn the military aggression in the Gaza Strip, the targeting of civilians, and the continued violation of international humanitarian laws by the occupying Israeli forces." He added, "Israel's attacks have resulted in the deaths and displacement of thousands of Palestinians, and this action is unacceptable." Bin Salman also emphasized the necessity of stopping the war and creating conditions for the return of stability and achieving peace. The condemnation of Israel's attacks by the Saudi Crown Prince comes as the country is set to host two international meetings, including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, regarding the situation of the war between Israel and Hamas starting Saturday. The final statement of the Saudi and African leaders' summit expressed "deep concern" over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling for an end to military operations and urging the international community to pressure Israel to stop the attacks and the forced displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Hamas killed at least 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, in the terrorist attack on October 7 and kidnapped about 240 Israelis and foreign nationals, including children, women, and the elderly. The United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization. Hamas confirmed clashes with the Israeli army around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The Israeli army has conducted 15,000 attacks on Hamas so far; the grandson of Ismail Haniyeh was killed. Live blog: G7 foreign ministers welcome the cessation of hostilities; all hostages should be released unconditionally. The Israeli army claims to have seized important Hamas bases in Gaza and killed 150 "terrorists."