Several Gulf countries today warned Israel against a new ground operation in the Gaza Strip, with Saudi Arabia denouncing the “unjustified” violation of international law and Oman accusing Israeli forces of “war crimes”.

United Arab Emirates, the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel, condemned the ground operation and expressed “deep concern” over the escalation and “worsening of the humanitarian crisis that threatens to claim the lives of more civilians,” WAM news agency reported.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, it is emphasized that “the flagrant and unjustified violation of international law (…) will have serious consequences for the stability of the region.” The kingdom also called on the international community to “take up its responsibilities” to end the military operation and allow aid agencies to provide aid to civilians.

Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan he contacted his Jordanian, Moroccan and Egyptian counterparts and they agreed on the need to stop the military escalation in Gaza.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani said in a post on Platform X that “ground escalation will have serious consequences for civilians and devastating humanitarian and economic impacts.”

Oman, for its part, blamed Israel for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” in Gaza. In its announcement, the Foreign Ministry also cited the risk of destabilization of the wider region due to the ground operation in Gaza.

For Kuwait, “any ground invasion of Gaza (…) would prove that ‘the Israeli occupation is determined to continue committing crimes against the brotherly Palestinian people’.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned the escalation as a “violation of international law” and called for an immediate end to hostilities.