The U.S. is closely monitoring the Islamic Cooperation Organization meeting on the Gaza war

The United States announced that it will closely follow the emergency summit of the leaders of the Islamic Cooperation Organization regarding the Gaza war, but will not participate since it is not a member of the organization. Vedant Patel, the Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated at a press conference on Thursday, "We are closely monitoring this meeting and will be in contact with our partners in the Islamic Cooperation Organization." The meeting is scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 12, in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Islamic Cooperation Organization. Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic, will also attend this meeting. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, stated on Wednesday that member countries of the Islamic Cooperation Organization should impose various sanctions, including oil sanctions, against Israel and that countries with diplomatic relations with Israel should expel their ambassadors from that country. Hamas killed at least 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, in a 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. Gita Arian, a senior reporter for the Persian section of Voice of America, primarily focuses on foreign policy news. She began her journalism career in 1987 with work in radio and joined Voice of America in 2004. A report from the Voice of America journalist details the capture of a Hamas base by the Israeli army after 10 hours of fighting, the Israeli army's infiltration into Hamas headquarters in the center of Gaza City, a significant reduction in Hamas rocket fire, the reason for the bombing of the IRGC facilities in Syria, and the White House's statement that it was a response to attacks against American forces. The U.S. stated that Israel agreed to a daily "four-hour" ceasefire in northern Gaza. Putin was in Kazakhstan; Erdogan and Raisi met in Uzbekistan. Republicans supported Israel in the election debate; Nikki Haley stated that without Iran, Hamas would not exist.