After a blast at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people on Tuesday, the leaders of several Arab countries have harshly condemned the bombing and joined Palestinian officials in blaming Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces has “categorically” denied any involvement, blaming instead a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, a rival Islamist militant group in Gaza.
Here's where these Arab countries stand:
- Saudi Arabia “categorically rejects this brutal attack, which is a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, including international humanitarian law,” the kingdom's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
- Jordan‘s King Abdullah II called the bombing “a heinous war crime that cannot be tolerated,” adding that “Israel must immediately stop its brutal aggression against Gaza,” according to a statement released by his office on Tuesday.
- Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned “in the strongest terms” the bombing as “a clear violation of international law and the provisions of international legitimacy and humanity,” according to a statement released by his office.
- The United Arab Emirates condemned what it called “the Israeli attack” and called on the international community “to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, to avoid further fueling the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace, while preventing the region from being pulled into new levels of violence, tension and instability,” according to a statement from its foreign ministry on Tuesday.
- Iraq's government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi called the hospital blast “a war crime,” alleging that Israeli forces “have crossed all the lines,” in a statement released on Tuesday.
— CutC by cnn.com
