Smoke plumes billow during Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on Oct 12, 2023 as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day. (PHOTO / AFP)
TEHRAN / JERUSALEM / GAZA - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud discussed the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their roles in it.
In their phone call on Wednesday night, Raisi said in the current highly sensitive period, Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two major regional players, should support and defend the oppressed Muslim nation of Palestine, adding that the two countries' ties have the capacity to help establish, ensure and promote security and stability in the region.
Raisi said Iran and Saudi Arabia can help restore the Palestinians' legal rights and put an end to Israel's "aggression and crimes"
Raisi said Iran and Saudi Arabia can help restore the Palestinians' legal rights and put an end to Israel's "aggression and crimes."
The Saudi crown prince, for his part, described the recent events in Gaza as "painful and dangerous."
He said today, all countries, including the Western states, have well realized that any failure to resolve the Palestinian issue can cause many problems for them.
The Riyadh-Tehran cooperation can play an effective role in the speedy termination of the conflicts, following which a fundamental and just solution can be worked out for resolving Palestine's issue, added the Saudi crown prince.
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Saturday launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
As of Thursday, more than 2,600 people have been killed and thousands more injured on both sides.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached in China's Beijing a groundbreaking agreement to resume diplomatic relations. On April 6, the two countries officially announced the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.
Blinken
Also on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel, pledging support and more weapon deliveries for Israel.
In a live broadcast statement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said that more shipments of US arms were "on the way." A cargo plane carrying the first shipment of advanced weaponry landed in Israel on Tuesday
In a live broadcast statement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken said that more shipments of US arms were "on the way." A cargo plane carrying the first shipment of advanced weaponry landed in Israel on Tuesday.
"As long as America exists ... we will always be there by your side," Blinken said, reiterating US President Joe Biden's pledge on Tuesday that Washington will provide additional military assistance to Israel.
Netanyahu vowed that "just as ISIS was crashed, Hamas will also be crashed." He urged the international community to cancel ties with Hamas, adding that contacts with the group "should be sanctioned."
Fatalities
The number of fatalities in Israel since the beginning of Hamas' surprise attack has reached more than 1,300, Israel's state-owned Kan TV news reported on Thursday.
Over 3,268 people were injured, and 443 of them are still in hospitals, the Israeli Health Ministry said.
Attempts to find bodies in southern towns and villages continued on Thursday, Israeli authorities said.
In Gaza, 1,354 individuals have been killed while 6,049 were injured by Israeli airstrikes, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Thursday morning that Israel has killed a senior member of the Hamas naval force in an airstrike overnight.
READ MORE: Hamas leader's relatives killed as Israel boosts forces on border
The IDF killed Muhammed Abu Shamala, a senior member of the Rafah Brigade in the Hamas naval force, and destroyed his house, which was used to store weapons to be used in operations against Israel, according to the statement.
The Israeli army also struck multiple sites belonging to the commando force of Hamas, it added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel formed a unity government and a war cabinet to oversee the deadly conflict triggered by Hamas' weekend surprise attack as it continued to launch airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip.
People carry away the body of a victim of an Israeli airstrike outside the morgue of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Oct 12, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)
The new war cabinet brings former defense minister and leader of the centrist-right National Unity party Benny Gantz to Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition government. Members of the wartime cabinet also include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
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The formation of the war cabinet comes amid increasing public criticism in Israel against Netanyahu and his government, who were blamed for failing to adequately prepare and foresee Saturday's attack, as well as amid rising speculation that Israel would launch a ground offensive in Gaza soon.
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) waged a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, which included the firing of thousands of rockets and the infiltration ground attacks on the Israeli towns bordering Gaza.
In response, Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
In addition to the retaliatory strikes, Israel has also ordered "a full siege" of Gaza, cutting the supply of electricity, food and water to the coastal enclave.
A dead body lies on the ground following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, Oct 11, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)
Fighting continued on Wednesday, with Israeli airstrikes continuing to demolish neighborhoods in the blockaded enclave, while militants in Gaza continued to fire rockets towards southern and northern Israel. The Israeli army also reported several infiltrations of gunmen in which at least five militants were killed.
Egypt said Wednesday it is in discussions with the United States and other countries to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza through a temporary ceasefire
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday that four of its paramedics were killed during Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported the loss of eleven employees in the Gaza Strip since the weekend.
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According to United Nations figures, some 250,000 people were displaced or lost their homes in Gaza. The Palestinian Energy Ministry said the only power plant in Gaza ran out of fuel. The Health Ministry in Gaza said in a statement Wednesday all hospital beds in the Palestinian enclave had been occupied, and medicines were about to run out as the conflict continued.
To resolve the conflict, an Arab League (AL) extraordinary meeting at the level of foreign ministers was held in Cairo on Wednesday. Participants of the meeting called for an immediate halt to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and the revival of the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
An Israeli soldier mistakenly thinks he hears an air raid siren and jumps to the ground to take cover in Kibbutz Beeri, Israel, Oct 11, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)
In the final communique of the meeting, the top Arab diplomats urged all parties to exercise self-restraint, warning of "the catastrophic humanitarian and security repercussions" of further escalation.
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They also emphasized the necessity of lifting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza and immediately providing humanitarian aid, food, and fuel to the people there.
Egypt said Wednesday it is in discussions with the United States and other countries to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza through a temporary ceasefire. The aid would be sent through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
