Islamic nations' body calls emergency meeting to discuss Israel-Hamas conflict
A top grouping of Islamic nations has called for an "urgent" meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be addressing the "military escalation" and "threat to defenseless civilians in Gaza." Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the current session of the Islamic Summit, has urged member countries to meet in Jeddah on Wednesday.
Why does this story matter?
The development comes right after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan and United States (US) Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Saturday condemned the targeting of civilians amid the Israel-Hamas war, which has claimed over 3,000 lives so far. Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel last Saturday, and since then, the Israeli armed forces have dropped over 6,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip in response. From the Gaza Strip alone, over 2,000 people have been killed.
Know about OIC and significance of meeting
With 57 member nations spread across four continents, the OIC is the second-largest organization after the United Nations (UN) and refers to itself as "the collective voice of the Muslim world." It should also be noted that the OIC's urgent call for a meeting comes on the same day that Saudi Arabia suspended talks on possibly normalizing ties with Israel.
Details on OIC's emergency meeting statement
In an official release, OIC announced, "The Organization's Executive Committee is convening an urgent open-ended extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level to address the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs." "The extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the OIC will take place on Wednesday at the General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah Governorate," it added.
You can check out OIC's full statement here
Iran earlier called for OIC meeting
It is worth recalling that Iran called for an emergency OIC meeting last Monday as the bloodshed between Hamas and Israeli forces raged. "Tehran has called for an emergency meeting of the OIC to discuss regional developments," news agency Reuters quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani as saying. Furthermore, Iran had also claimed it was not involved in Hamas's surprise attack on Israel.
US, Saudi working closely to protect civilians in Gaza: Details
During the meeting on Saturday, Blinken stated that Washington was working closely with Riyadh to provide safety for civilians in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict. While calling the Hamas attack "indescribable," the US official asserted that aid must be allowed to reach civilians stuck in Gaza and called for establishing safe zones. On the other hand, the Saudi foreign minister stated, "The priority now needs to be to stop further civilian suffering."
