Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque destroyed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, early Monday, Oct 9, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

As the death toll escalates following Hamas’ attack on Israel, Arab leaders and the international community should not lose sight of efforts to find a comprehensive and just solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, analysts said.

They said that even as Israel has declared “a state of war”, the current conflict, which claimed hundreds of lives and caused injuries on both sides, should be seen as one involving the Hamas militant group, and not the broader Palestinian society.

Israel was caught off guard on Oct 7 by the surprise attack. The conflicts have so far caused at least 700 deaths in Israel and at least 413 Palestinian deaths in the Gaza strip, the Palestinian enclave

Jasim Husain, a Gulf analyst and former member of Bahrain's parliament, told China Daily, that Hamas does not represent the whole Palestinian resistance movement. Iranian-backed or endorsed entities like Islamic Jihad — another Palestinian group — and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are not heavily involved in the current conflict, he noted.

READ MORE: Hamas: 4 captives held in Gaza killed in Israeli air raids

“This conflict could have some major repercussions on the peace process in the region. We definitely have to see a new Israeli government that would avoid assaulting Muslims in Jerusalem and elsewhere so we don’t have a repeat of something like this,” Husain added.

Israel was caught off guard on Oct 7 by the surprise attack. The conflicts have so far caused at least 700 deaths in Israel and at least 413 Palestinian deaths in the Gaza strip, the Palestinian enclave. 

The Israeli army continued extensive airstrikes on targets in Gaza as Hamas militants fight with Israeli soldiers on Israeli territories.

Zaka, an Israeli rescue service, said in a statement that it collected remains of about 260 young women and men who were partying at the Nova festival, an outdoor music event in a rural farmland area near the Gaza-Israel fence.

Kamaruzaman Bin Yusoff, a Middle East analyst and former dean of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Faculty of Islamic Civilization, told China Daily, that “we should not consider the current escalation of war and hostilities between the Palestinian people and the Israel government as the first and the last”. 

He said these are “part of the long processes of attacks, conflicts, hostilities between the two parties”.  

Hamas said its offensive by land, air and sea was in response to the desecration of the Al Aqsa Mosque as well as Israeli atrocities against Palestinians over the decades.

According to the official “X” (formerly Twitter) account of the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Minister Riyad Al-Maliki was in communication with his Arab counterparts for political support “in the face of the continuing Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine in the Gaza Strip”.

The Palestinian Authority submitted a memorandum on Oct 8, calling for an emergency Arab League meeting at the foreign ministerial level, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The date for the emergency Arab ministerial meeting is expected to be set within the next two days at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo. 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reportedly had phone conversations with Palestinian resistance leaders over the latest developments in Palestine and expressed support for the “freedom-seeking independent nations, especially the people of Palestine”, IRNA reported.

The United Arab Emirates, which has normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords signed in 2020, released a statement late on Oct 8, stressing that it was “appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes”

There are accusations that Iran was involved in the planning of Hamas’ attack. But Iran’s mission to the United Nations said on Oct 8 that Teheran was not involved.

It said that the resolute measures taken by Palestine constitute “a wholly legitimate defense against seven decades of oppressive occupation and heinous crimes committed by the illegitimate Zionist regime," according to a report by Reuters. 

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a phone call from the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The two discussed the dangers of the continuing military escalation in Gaza and its surroundings, and the importance of working to defuse tensions.

The United Arab Emirates, which has normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords signed in 2020, released a statement late on Oct 8, stressing that it was “appalled by reports that Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages from their homes”.

“Civilians on both sides must always have full protection under international humanitarian law and must never be a target of conflict,” the statement read, adding that the UAE remains in close contact with its partners for a return to negotiations within the parameters of the two-state solution for Palestinians and Israelis, “who deserve to live in peace and dignity”.

Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, reiterated a call to international institutions to intervene forcefully and promptly to revive efforts to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate rights in establishing their state on the 1967 territories with East Jerusalem as its capital.

READ MORE: Hamas: Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid

“All Gulf countries have understandably called on Israel to avoid attacking civilians in Gaza. There are still very high civilian casualties, which is definitely unfair really,” said Husain, the Gulf analyst and former Bahrain parliament member.

Belal Alakhras, a political analyst and Palestinian researcher at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, said that considering the significant impact of the Palestinian issue on the Middle East and its resonance on the global agenda, it is crucial for nations and major powers to “explore alternative approaches”.

“Palestine serves as a catalyst in the region, as recent incidents, such as the shooting involving Israelis in Egypt and the launching of mortars from Lebanon, accompanied by widespread popular support in the region, underscore the transnational character of this issue. It is a stark reminder that the issue cannot be contained within Palestine alone,” said Alakhras.

Contact the writer at jan@chinadailyapac.com