OIC calls for 'urgent, extraordinary' meeting on Israel-Gaza
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called an "urgent extraordinary meeting" in Saudi Arabia to discuss the "military escalation" and "threat to defenceless civilians in Gaza".
Saudi Arabia, which chairs the current session of the Islamic Summit, has invited the member nations for the meeting to be held in Jeddah on Wednesday, reports NDTV.
"At the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia... the Organisation's Executive Committee is convening an urgent open-ended extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level, to address the escalating military situation in Gaza and its environs as well as the deteriorating conditions that endanger the lives of civilians and the overall security and stability of the region," the OIC said in a statement on its website.
The OIC is the second-largest organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 countries spread over four continents.
The urgent meeting call comes on a day Saudi Arabia suspended talks on potentially normalising ties with Israel.
"Saudi Arabia has decided to pause discussion on possible normalisation and has informed US officials," a source familiar with the discussions told AFP.