Arab and Muslim leaders condemn Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza

Arab and Muslim leaders on Monday condemned "horrific and shocking crimes" committed by Israel's army in Gaza, during a summit in Saudi Arabia focused on ongoing regional wars.

The assembled leaders "condemn in the strongest terms" the Israeli army's actions "in the context of the crime of genocide... especially in the northern Gaza Strip during the past weeks", the summit's closing statement said, citing torture, executions, disappearances and "ethnic cleansing".

The leaders gathered in Riyadh, more than a year into the Israel-Hamas war and regional escalation, in what is seen as a chance to send a message to US president-elect Donald Trump.

Opening the summit, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the international community must "immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon", condemning Israel's campaign in Gaza as "genocide".

A draft resolution for the summit stresses "firm support" for "national rights" for the Palestinian people, "foremost among which is their right to freedom and to an independent, sovereign state".

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza health ministry figures which the United Nations considers to be reliable.

The ministry also lists 102,347 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began.