UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS FROM MORE ARAB COUNTRIES, REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Ahmed Asmar and Rania Abu Shamala
ANKARA /ISTANBUL (AA) - Arab countries strongly condemned renewed Israeli airstrikes that killed hundreds in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced Israel’s “direct bombardment of areas populated by defenseless civilians, without the slightest regard for international humanitarian law.”
The statement stressed "the importance of an immediate halt to the killing, violence, and Israeli destruction, and the protection of Palestinian civilians from the unjust Israeli war machine."
It affirmed the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities "by intervening immediately to put an end to these crimes and alleviate the severe humanitarian suffering endured by the brotherly Palestinian people."
The Qatari Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli assault as “a blatant challenge to international will supporting peace, including the ceasefire agreement.”
It warned that Israel’s escalatory policies “will ultimately lead to igniting the region and undermining its security and stability."
The ministry stressed the urgent need "to resume dialogue to implement the phases of the ceasefire agreement, leading to ending the war on the Gaza Strip."
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also called on Israel to “adhere to the ceasefire agreement in all its phases, which was brokered through Qatari, Egyptian, and US efforts.”
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “(The assault) constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and represents a dangerous escalation that threatens to have severe consequences for the stability of the region.”
It warned of “the risk of escalating regional tensions if Israel continues its aggression on Gaza,” calling on the international community to "assume its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel to immediately halt its aggression on Gaza."
- ‘Brutal’ attacks
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry also condemned the renewed Israeli military offensive on Gaza, describing them as "brutal." It called on the international community “to act urgently to end the grave violations and protect Palestinian civilians.”
The Algerian Foreign Ministry also denounced the Israeli attacks, calling it a "blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, with complete disregard for international conventions and norms."
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry expressed "strong condemnation and denunciation" of the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, stating that the Israeli aggression "exposes the occupation's ongoing policies of targeting unarmed civilians, imposing forced displacement, and systematically destroying Gaza’s infrastructure."
For its part, the Omani Foreign Ministry called for "urgent international intervention to put an end to this brutal aggression against humanity, protect civilians, and hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its actions."
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Arab League secretary-general, condemned "Israel’s brutal airstrikes on Gaza," saying: "The resumption of this massacre in Gaza is an inhumane act and a defiance of the international will that supported the ceasefire."
The Israeli army pounded the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing more than 404 people, injuring hundreds, and breaking a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19.
Images emerging from Gaza showed that the majority of the victims were civilians, including women and children, whose homes were bombed during the night.
More than 48,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.