Hissein Brahim Taha, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), today strongly condemned the continued and escalating Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip, persisting for 23 days in a row.

“This relentless assault has resulted in butchering thousands of martyrs and wounding innocent civilians, including women, children, medical personnel and journalists, in addition to the deliberate destruction of buildings, hospitals, schools, places of worship, and United Nations facilities. Israel still threatens to bomb hospitals, in addition to continuing to prevent access to food, medicine, water, and electricity, which constitutes collective punishment, war crimes, and flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” he said in a statement.

The Secretary-General also affirmed the OIC’s rejection and condemnation of “the escalation of acts of murder, incitement, and organized terrorism committed by extremist settler groups and Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian citizens throughout the West Bank, including the occupied city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem). These criminal acts have tragically led to the martyrdom of more than 115 Palestinian citizens since the beginning of the month,” holding Israel, the occupying power, “fully responsible for the continuation of these criminal acts.”

At the same time, the Secretary-General renewed his call on the international community to intervene urgently to force Israel, the occupying power, to stop its brutal aggression against the Palestinian people immediately and to oblige it to respect and implement international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and to ensure the opening of permanent humanitarian corridors to facilitate the access of medicines and food supplies and basic needs of the Gaza Strip.