Foreign Minister Faisal Affirms Saudi Arabia's Current Priority Is A Permanent Armistice In Gaza

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan emphasized that on Friday a permanent ceasefire in Gaza was Riyadh's priority at this time.

This was said by Foreign Minister Faisal when asked about the possible normalization of relations with Israel, while visiting Moscow.

"What we are seeing is Israel destroying Gaza, Gaza's civilian population," Foreign Minister Faisal said.

"This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and must be stopped," he stressed.

In 2024, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister said there would be no normalization of relations with Israel without solving Palestinian problems.

The latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when a Palestinian militant group attacked Israel's southern region, leaving 1,200 people dead and another 251 held hostage, according to Israeli calculations.

That was replied by the Israeli military's blockade, airstrikes, and land operations in the Palestinian enclave.

On January 19, militant groups Hamas and Israel began ceasefire and exchanged hostages.

Pretext to pressure Hamas to immediately accept the hostage release agreement, Israel again imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2.

As the agreement ended, Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18.

Separately, medical sources in Gaza confirmed the number of Palestinian casualties since the conflict only broke out on October 7, 2023 until yesterday had reached 57,130 people, while injuries reached 135,173 people, quoted from WAFA.