Saudi Arabia has announced an extraordinary summit in Riyadh on Saturday which will be attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, marking the first time in over a decade a sitting Iranian president will be traveling to the kingdom. In a statement released by Saudi Press Agency, the decision for the joint Arab Islamic summit was made in response to the urgent need for unified efforts by member states in addressing the dangerous developments in Gaza and the Palestinian territories. This significant gathering is aimed at arriving at a collective Arab and Islamic position to contain the repercussions of the ongoing crisis.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman discussed the importance of deterring threats from any actor looking to escalate the Israel-Hamas conflict and ensuring a lasting peace in the Middle East in a call today, according to a White House statement.
In addition, Israeli Foreign Ministry has revised down the death toll from the October 7 attack to 1,200 from the previously reported 1,400. This change came about as more bodies were identified after the attack, with Israel believing that some of them belong to Hamas fighters.
French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in on the conflict in Gaza, stating that there is no justification for the bombing and urging a cease-fire. He also condemned the actions of Hamas, which France considers a terror group, and expressed hope that the US and UK would join calls for a cease-fire.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 30,000 people left areas in northern Gaza and only 30 more aid trucks managed to cross the border from Egypt. These numbers are far below the quantities needed to meet the needs of over two million people besieged in Gaza, according to OCHA.
The summit amid the Israel-Hamas war and various international responses indicate an urgent call for diplomatic, collective, and actionable measures to stop the conflict and provide humanitarian aid to civilians, furthering the chaos and complexity of the ongoing crisis.
