Displaced Palestinians sit beneath a tent damaged in an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, on Wednesday. Reuters
Displaced Palestinians sit beneath a tent damaged in an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, on Wednesday. Reuters
Displaced Palestinians sit beneath a tent damaged in an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, on Wednesday. Reuters
Displaced Palestinians sit beneath a tent damaged in an Israeli strike in Deir Al Balah, on Wednesday. Reuters

OIC meets in Jeddah to discuss Gaza war and Haniyeh's assassination


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The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation held a meeting in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Wednesday warning of a regional conflict amid mounting fear that the war in Gaza could spread to Lebanon.

The executive committee meeting, attended by regional foreign ministers, was called “in response to the ongoing atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip”, the organisation said.

The OIC said the Islamic world is currently at a “critical junction,” with the situation threatening “to unravel decades of diplomatic efforts and plunge our world into deeper conflict".

Recent events in Gaza and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh mark a “significant escalation”, said Mamadou Tangara, Foreign Minister of Gambia.

He also warned of further regional conflict as a consequence of Mr Haniyeh's killing.

“The aggression and violation of the sovereignty of Iran … by the assassination of a political leader is an act that cannot be viewed in isolation, and is a heinous act that only serves to escalate conflict across the entire region.”

The killing of Mr Haniyeh in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, drew threats of revenge from Iran against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ismail Haniyeh, left, with Yahya Sinwar at a rally in Gaza city to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, in December 2017. EPA
Ismail Haniyeh, left, with Yahya Sinwar at a rally in Gaza city to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, in December 2017. EPA

OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha said Israel “stops at nothing in breaking every international law and resolution” and described Mr Haniyeh's assassination as a “flagrant violation” of international law and the UN charter.

The UN Security Council must “take necessary measures to compel Israel, the occupying power, to respect the rule of international law and stop its aggression and attacks that threaten regional and international peace,” said Mr Taha. He warned there was a risk of “full-scale regional war” that would endanger the entire region.

Senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr was assassinated in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut just hours before the Tehran strike that killed Mr Haniyeh, stoking fears that the conflict in Gaza is turning into a wider Middle East war.

Iran said the US bore responsibility for the assassination of Mr Haniyeh because it supports Israel.

The OIC also condemned the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and said its consequences will be felt across the Middle East and the wider international community.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October, according to figures from the enclave's Health Ministry.

Another 620 have been killed in the occupied West Bank, taking the total Palestinian death toll to more than 40,000.

On Tuesday, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, the man Israel accuses of planning the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war, as its new political chief.

The attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people and saw about 240 taken hostage.

Mr Sinwar has been in hiding in the besieged Palestinian enclave, defying Israeli attempts to kill him since the start of the war.

He is Israel's most-wanted man, with a bounty of $400,000 on his head.

Mr Haniyeh, who lived in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019, played a direct role in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza.

About 111 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of 39 the military says are dead.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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 May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
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May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
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Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
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Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party

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England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)

New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)

Updated: August 08, 2024, 4:42 AM`