ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid on Saturday travelled to the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh for a summit on Israel’s war with Hamas.
Rashid “left the country heading to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in the extraordinary Arab Summit and the Islamic Summit in the city of Riyadh to discuss the situation in Gaza,” read a statement from his office.
He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Saudi Arabia was scheduled to host two separate Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summits on Saturday, but its foreign ministry announced late on Friday that it would combine the two meetings.
“In response to the unprecedented circumstances in Gaza, and after the consultation of Saudi Arabia with the League of the Arab States and the OIC, it was decided to hold a ‘Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit’ in an exceptional manner on November 11, 2023,” read a statement from the ministry on X.
Relentless Israeli airstrikes have pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a surprise attack by Palestinian Hamas on October 7. The strikes have left over 11,000 dead, including scores of women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The war in Gaza has sparked sympathy across the Arab world where the Palestinian cause has widespread support. Iraq is one of the countries sending aids to the besieged strip.
At a peace summit in Egypt last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani criticized global failure to support human rights and justice in the conflict. “Palestine stands as a living testament for this recurring failure,” he said.
The Iraqi government has sent humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza through the enclave's Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
