Foreign ministers from eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning what they described as continuing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, singling out strikes on hospitals and medical facilities and calling on the United Nations Security Council to take "effective measures" to compel Israeli compliance with international law.
The statement, circulated by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published separately by Pakistan's Foreign Office, was signed by Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates. The ministers expressed their "strongest condemnation and denunciation" of attacks on healthcare facilities and civilian infrastructure, and of the continued loss of civilian lives, including women and children, which they said amounted to grave breaches of international law.
The intervention lands at a delicate moment for the ceasefire that took effect on 10 October 2025 and was subsequently endorsed by Security Council Resolution 2803. The ministers warned that the attacks jeopardise implementation of the second phase of the plan to end the war, describing them as "a clear violation of Israel's obligations under international law and the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza".
"The continuation of these crimes is a clear violation of Israel's obligations under international law and the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza."
Three of the eight signatories — Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye — are mediators to the ceasefire, and had issued a narrower condemnation of their own on 4 August. Thursday's statement broadens that line to include Gulf states, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia. No Western government has signed it.
The immediate trigger was a strike on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah on 1 August. Gaza's health ministry said two medical warehouses were destroyed and two more damaged, along with the supplies inside them. Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the strike came roughly 15 minutes after an evacuation order and damaged tents sheltering displaced families. The Israeli army and Shin Bet said they had destroyed five Hamas weapons depots overnight, one of them near the hospital.
Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Gaza health ministry, said the destruction of medical stocks "turns medicine and illness itself into a tool of war". The ministry has said shortages of medicines are now killing three cancer patients a day. On Wednesday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned separately of escalating attacks on schools and educational facilities in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, 73,382 people have been killed and 174,236 wounded since October 2023, with 1,254 killed and 4,121 injured since the ceasefire began. The ministry says some victims remain under rubble or in areas rescue teams cannot reach. Palestinian health officials reported at least 19 people killed on 2 August, the highest daily toll in weeks.
Beyond condemnation, the ministers set out four demands: that Israel protect civilians, medical facilities and humanitarian workers; that aid be allowed to move unhindered throughout Gaza; that those responsible for serious violations be held to account; and that no attempt be made to annex the occupied Palestinian territory, impose Israeli sovereignty over it or forcibly displace Palestinians. Lasting peace, they reiterated, can only come through a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.
The call for Security Council action places pressure on the United Kingdom, a permanent member which recognised the State of Palestine in September 2025 and has declined to join the US-led Board of Peace. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Council in February that the ceasefire "remains fragile", citing violations on both sides. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had not responded to the statement at the time of publication.
The disarmament agreement announced by Donald Trump on 30 July requires a detailed roadmap to be prepared within 14 days, placing the next deadline around 13 August. Israel has not publicly confirmed acceptance of the proposal.