BURSTSaudi Arabia condemned the Israeli government’s decision to greenlight a military occupation of Gaza City on Friday, calling on the international community to help halt the Israeli military’s “aggressions.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to occupy the Gaza Strip and categorically condemns their persistence in committing crimes of starvation, brutal practices, and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia said.
Israel confirmed Friday morning it would look to occupy Gaza City, which at one point had around 700,000 residents but sustained extensive damage from Israeli raids.
Jerusalem said ending the Israel-Hamas war would hinge on releasing some 20 hostages in the war-torn enclave and that an “alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” should be established in Gaza.
The decision to move forward with the military operation comes as the international outcry about the humanitarian situation in Gaza has continued, with reports of people suffering from starvation and malnutrition.
Netanyahu’s decision to proceed Friday was met with backlash from some European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Germany said it would pause arms exports that could be used in the Gaza Strip.
Saudi Arabia said Friday the “continued failure” of the international community, along with the United Nations Security Council, to deter Israel from moving forward threatens regional and global peace.
Riyadh called for a two-state solution between and that an independent Palestinian state be established with 1967 borders, with the capital being East Jerusalem.