ANKARA (Bernama) — The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called Wednesday for the immediate cessation of Israel’s “barbaric” aggression against the Palestinian people.
In a final communique released following an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of foreign ministers, the bloc called for the immediate lifting of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.
The pan-Islamic grouping reiterated its support for “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, most notably their right to self-determination and the return of Palestinian refugees, their right to independence, and the embodiment of the independent and sovereign State of Palestine within the June 4, 1967 borders with its capital, Al-Quds Al-Sharif”, Anadolu Agency reported.
The OIC also reaffirmed its support for the Palestinians’ “legitimate right to self-defense to confront the Israeli aggression that targets their lives, their sanctities, and their properties.”
The Jeddah-based organisation rejected the “targeting of civilians under any pretext or displacing them from their homes, or starving and depriving them of safe access to humanitarian aid in contravention of all international norms and laws, and of the most basic humanitarian principles and values.”
It called for the quick provision of humanitarian, medical, and relief aid and water and electricity to the Gaza Strip.
At least 471 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday evening, according to the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave.
The OIC termed the hospital attack a “war crime, extermination and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, ethics, and international and humanitarian instruments.
It also called for holding Israel accountable “for these heinous war crimes against the Palestinian people and humanity at large”
“Israel, the occupying power, bears full responsibility for the fate of civilians in the Gaza Strip and the real tragedy they are subjected to under bombardment, siege and starvation, without electricity, food, or clean water,” Anadolu Agency citing the grouping said.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, while water, food, fuel and medical supplies are running out.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to ease the “epic human suffering.”
At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed since Oct 7.
