TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragut has called for an emergency meeting of Islamic Cooperation Organizations (OICs) to deal with the unprecedented “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip.
In a letter to OIC Executive Director Hissein Brahim Taha, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, Araghchi urged the convening of an extraordinary session in response to the “fastly worsening humanitarian situation” and to address the extraordinary Palestinian territory.
“The horrifying situation in Gaza has become one of the most serious crises facing Islamic Umma and the international community,” he said. “This is not just a humanitarian emergency, it is the systematic destruction of besieged civilians. The scope and strength of the crime demands immediate and coordinated action.”
This appeal is because Gaza is facing extreme hunger, and international organizations report catastrophic hunger levels. At least 193 people have died of starvation in recent months, including 96 children, but aid convoys have either been cut off or significantly restricted by the Israeli regime. More than 1,500 Palestinians reportedly were killed while trying to access food.
Araghchi warned that credible humanitarians and media coverage would leave “no other words” and “genocide” to explain the crisis. He also accused Israel of pursuing a “strategic intention” to permanently occupy Gaza and citing demographic measures aimed at removing military actions, political statements and territorial and political identities of the enclave.
“The Zionist government officials have openly declared their plans to eliminate Gaza as a political entity,” he said. “This is part of a calculated design to dismantle Palestinian sovereignty through permanent occupation, forced displacement and demographic operations.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister called on the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to meet urgently in Jeddah to coordinate humanist relief, assess the legal and political implications of Israeli actions, and adopt a unified response.
“The conference must agree to specific diplomatic, legal and economic steps to stop the attack, be accountable to the perpetrators, and to reaffirm the Palestinians’ rights to self-determination, sovereignty and return,” Araguchi emphasized.
Israel launched a US-backed war with Gaza on October 7, 2023, in decades of retaliation of Israeli occupation and violence following the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas’s operation of the Al-Axa Storm. The ongoing Israeli attacks have killed at least 61,158 Palestinians, the majority of women and children so far.