RIYADH: Saudi Arabia condemned on Tuesday the Israeli forces’ continued “genocidal massacres against the Palestinian people without deterrence” by targeting the tents of defenseless Palestinian refugees in Rafah.

The Kingdom holds the Israeli authorities fully responsible for what is happening in Rafah and all the occupied Palestinian territories, a foreign ministry statement read.

Israel’s military denied striking a tent camp west of the city of Rafah on Tuesday after Gaza health authorities said Israeli tank shelling had killed at least 21 people there, in what Israel has designated a civilian evacuation zone.

Earlier, defying an appeal from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israeli tanks advanced to the heart of Rafah for the first time after a night of heavy bombardment, while Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state, a move that further deepened Israel’s international isolation.

Saudi Arabia reiterated that the Israeli forces’ blatant violation of all international and humanitarian laws and norms, amid the silence of the international community, exacerbates the unprecedented Palestinian humanitarian catastrophe, and puts the credibility of international institutions at stake.

“The Kingdom stresses the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to stop the massacres against the Palestinian people and hold those responsible accountable,” the statement concluded.

The Muslim World League also condemned in the strongest terms “the ongoing massacres committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinian people.”

The organization’s Secretary-General Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa denounced “persistent Israeli violations of all international and humanitarian laws and norms.”

The unprecedented “humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinian people are undergoing is worsening and has become a stain on the conscience of humanity,” Al-Issa added.

He called for urgent international intervention to halt these horrific massacres and for an end to the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinian people face. 

- With Reuters