Saudi Summit
The assistant secretary-general states that the Arab League aims to demonstrate how the Arabs will act on the international scene to stop the aggression.
Arab leaders and Iran’s president are in the Saudi capital for summits that are expected to underscore demands that Israel’s war in Gaza ends before the violence draws in other countries.
The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are holding emergency meetings after Hamas militants’ attacks on October 7, which Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead and 239 taken hostage.
Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians, and many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Here are the latest updates:
- Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7 have resulted in at least 11,078 Palestinians being killed. In Israel, the death toll stands at more than 1,200.
- Israeli forces have attacked the front gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, where thousands of patients and displaced Palestinians have been sheltering.
- The chief of the Palestine Red Crescent tells the UN Security Council that Gaza hospitals are being “deliberately targeted” to force civilians out of the enclave.
- Israel reports that 100,000 Palestinians have moved southwards in Gaza in the last two days; however, many Palestinians say they remain trapped amid continued fighting.
- The medical charity MSF International states that attacks on the al-Shifa Hospital have “dramatically intensified” in the last few hours, and staff have reported “a catastrophic situation.”
- Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa says her country wants to “take a lead” in efforts to alleviate the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, according to local media reports.
Overall, Arab leaders, including Iran’s president, gather in the Saudi capital for Saturday’s summit, emphasizing the call to end Israel’s Gaza war.
