Israel-Hamas: Saudi Arabia Summons Nigeria, Other Islamic Countries To Emergency Meeting

The ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdulaziz has summoned an emergency meeting of the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Naija News reports that the emergency meeting is called to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Gaza strip between Hamas and Israel.

In a statement posted on OIC’s official website on Sunday, the meeting is slated for October 18 and 19, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The statement reads: “At the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which chairs the current session of the Islamic Summit and the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Organization’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 extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the OIC will take place on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at the General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah Governorate.”

The OIC is the second largest organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The organisation is the collective voice of the Muslim world.

Nigeria has been a member of OIC since 1986.

Recall that Hamas on October 7th launched an unprecedented and coordinated land, air and sea incursion of Israel which reportedly killed 1,300 Israelis.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli retaliatory strikes, including 614 children and 370 women.