Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Oman has called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, condemning what it described as Israel’s policy of collective punishment against Palestinians.

Sheikh Mohammed al Qatabi, Head of Foreign Ministry’s International Organisations Department, said civilians in Gaza were being systematically starved and deprived of basic rights, including access to food, water and healthcare. He urged all crossings be opened to allow delivery of essential aid.

“Israel has imposed an illegal occupation by force and is seeking to assert sovereignty over the West Bank while maintaining military control over the Gaza Strip,” Qatabi said, leading Oman’s delegation at an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah on Monday, which focused on the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

“Residents are being forcibly displaced and denied fundamental rights amid escalating violations and repeated incursions,” he added.

Qatabi warned that settlement expansion and other unilateral measures represented clear breaches of international law and United Nations resolutions, further fuelling the humanitarian crisis and diminishing prospects for peace.

He stated that Oman rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Gaza’s population, describing such an act as a crime under international humanitarian law. He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable and to protect Palestinian civilians.

Reaffirming Oman’s position, Qatabi said the sultanate supports the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and establishment of an independent state within the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

He also underlined Oman’s backing for the Palestine Summit and the Gaza Reconstruction Plan adopted in Cairo, as well as the New York Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Issue, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.

On Monday, the Foreign Ministry strongly condemned and denounced the ongoing aggression launched by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, the latest of which was deliberate targeting of medical, relief and media personnel at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, in what it described as a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

In a statement, the ministry renewed its call on the international community, the UN Security Council in particular, to take decisive action to ensure the protection of civilians, halt these serious violations by Israel and uphold the principles of international law.