"Arab and Muslim countries took a clear stand at the Riyadh summit: the war in the Gaza Strip must end immediately, humanitarian aid must be ensured, and peace is impossible without an independent Palestinian state," he told a news conference.
The Gulf kingdom's capital was to host an extraordinary summit of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday followed by an emergency Arab League summit on Sunday but the two were merged into one due to the exceptional nature of the situation in the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion inside Gaza with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas and rescuing the hostages.