Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold urgent meeting on developments in Gaza

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has announced that it will hold an urgent meeting next Wednesday to discuss recent dramatic developments in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Saturday, the OIC said: “At the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which chairs the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Organization’s Executive Committee is convening an urgent open-ended extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level.”

The meeting aims to address “the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs as well as the deteriorating conditions that endanger the lives of civilians and the overall security and stability of the region.”

The extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee will take place at the General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, a week ago Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began last Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has endured a crippling siege since 2007, as well as ordering over 1 million Gaza residents to abandon their homes in the north and evacuate to the south.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi