Eight countries ‘strongly denounce’ ongoing Israeli violations in Gaza

Eight Arab and Muslim countries have issued a joint statement expressing their “strongest condemnation and denunciation” of ongoing Israeli violations in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt reserved their strongest condemnation for the targeting of healthcare facilities and medical infrastructure, alongside attacks on civilian areas and the continued killing of Palestinians, including women and children.

They said on Thursday that the deliberate targeting of hospitals, ambulances and medical personnel amounted to a “grave” breach of international humanitarian law.

The group stressed that the protection of medical facilities and health workers, and the immediate and unhindered delivery of medical supplies and aid across Gaza, were legal obligations that could not be compromised under any circumstances.

Palestinian group Hamas welcomed the statement, saying it reflected the gravity of Israeli violations of a “ceasefire” that threaten the entire agreement.

The group urged the signatory states, the mediators and the United States administration to act immediately to stop Israel from “sabotaging the agreement” signed in October, adding that the Palestinian factions had engaged responsibly with the roadmap and that pressure should now fall on Israel to halt its violations and meet its obligations.

The warning comes as Gaza’s health system remains close to collapse despite the “ceasefire”.

Only about half of the enclave’s 36 hospitals are partially functional. On August 1, an Israeli air raid hit a pharmaceuticals warehouse at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, while the Health Ministry says shortages of cancer and blood-disorder medicines have reached 61 percent, leaving oncology patients at “imminent risk of death”.