Iran's Raisi to attend OIC talks in Riyadh on Gaza war

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the Etemadonline news website reported on Monday, the first visit by an Iranian head of state since Tehran and Riyadh ended years of hostility under a China-brokered deal in March.

"President Raisi will attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation' (OIC) summit in Riyadh, where the issue of Palestine will be discussed," the Iranian website reported.

World and regional powers have failed to reach any consensus on how to deal with the escalating conflict in the four weeks since fighters from Hamas stormed southern Israel on 7 October, killing some 1,400 Israelis and taking more than 240 people hostage.

The group says in came in retaliation to Israel's 17-year blockade of Gaza, and ongoing aggression in the occupied West Bank.

Israel has since launched an unprecedented bombing campaign of Gaza from the air, imposed a siege, and launched a ground assault, stirring global alarm and condemnation over humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

At least 10,022 Palestinians, including 4,104 children, have been killed so far in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said on Monday.

Regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume ties in March under a deal negotiated by China after seven years of hostility, which had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.