UAE, China, France Call For Closed UNSC Meeting Over Gaza Escalation - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, France, Norway, and Ireland have submitted a request to hold a meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to discuss the current escalation in the Gaza Strip, according to the UAE Foreign Ministry.

Afra Mahash Al Hameli, Director of the Strategic Communications Department at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), said as cited by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) on Saturday that the UAE is deeply concerned about the Gaza situation and is calling for restraint to preserve civilian lives.

According to Afra Mahash Al Hameli, the UAE, China, France, Ireland and Norway have submitted a request to hold a closed UNSC meeting next Monday to discuss the escalation in the Gaza Strip and find ways of achieving peace.

Earlier on Saturday, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned Israel’s operation Breaking Dawn launched against Islamic Jihad. The foreign ministries of Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Tunisia have also called on the international community to intervene to stop Israel's operation.

The Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Saturday that at least 24 people had been killed and 203 others suffered injuries as a result of the airstrikes targeting the Gaza Strip under Israel's operation Breaking Dawn.

According to Israeli media reports, an explosion occurred at the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least four children. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the incident was the result of an Islamic Jihad rocket misfire.

Khaled al-Batsh, head of Islamic Jihad’s politburo told journalists on Saturday that Islamic Jihad has no other choice than to defend itself and the Palestinian people from Israel, which bears responsibility for the current escalation. Al-Batsh said that the international community, Qatar and Egypt, are taking mediation efforts to stop Israeli strikes against Gaza.

The IDF launched an operation dubbed Breaking Dawn against Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The IDF press office told Sputnik that the Israeli forces are preparing for the Breaking Dawn operation in the Gaza Strip to continue for one week.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Moscow was concerned about the new wave of violence in Gaza and was calling on all parties to immediately return to the ceasefire regime and avoid further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.