UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting to discuss Gaza-Israel escalation

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency closed-door meeting on Monday to discuss the latest escalation between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said in a statement, Report informs via The Times of Israel.

The meeting was requested by the UAE — a UNSC member — along with China (the current Council chair), France, Ireland and Norway, the UAE Foreign Ministry strategic communications director Afra Mahash al-Hameli said in a statement.

“The United Arab Emirates has emphasized the need to restore calm to the Gaza Strip, reduce escalation, and preserve civilian lives,” she said, adding that Abu Dhabi “expresses its deep concern over the current escalation and calls for exercising maximum restraint, to prevent being drawn into new levels of violence and instability.”

During the Monday meeting, Security Council members will discuss “the current developments and ways to support international efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace,” the senior Emirati official said.

Israel has conducted numerous strikes in Gaza targeting Islamic Jihad as part of the operation launched Friday to tackle what Israeli leaders said was an immediate concrete threat by the terror group to Israeli communities.