The African Union (AU) and the League of Arab States have condemned attacks targeting civilians in Gaza as Israel airstrikes continue to pound the enclave following the escalation of hostilities on October 7.
“The Secretary-General of the Arab League (Ahmed Aboul Gheit) and the Chairman of the African Union Commission (Moussa Faki Mahamat) stress the necessity of providing full protection to the residents of the Gaza Strip,” the two regional bodies said in a joint statement.
Gheit and Faki met at the headquarters of the Arab League of States in Egypt’s capital Cairo on Sunday.
“During the meeting, the two parties focused on the developments of events in Gaza, and both the (League of Arab States) Secretary General and the Head of the (African Union) Commission expressed their categorical rejection of the killing of innocent civilians,” the joint statement added.
Israeli airstrikes
Gaza has been under an Israeli military siege since October 7, when Hamas fighters launched an offensive in southern Israel.
Israel has since cut off water, fuel and electricity supply to Gaza.
Thousands of people, from both sides, have died in the renewed hostilities, with Gaza bearing the harshest brunt.
Israeli military has ordered residents of northern Gaza to evacuate before launching a possible land offensive.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced in Gaza, with critical infrastructure such as hospitals and schools decimated.
Calls for restraint have mounted to avert the suffering of people due to the fighting.
