Saudi Arabia's crown prince on Friday called for an end to the war in Gaza, a stance later echoed in a declaration with African leaders attending a summit in Riyadh, Reuters reports.
"We condemn what the Gaza Strip is facing from military assault, targeting of civilians, the violations of international law by the Israeli occupation authorities," Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said during the African-Saudi summit in the kingdom's capital.
"We stress on the need to stop this war and the forced displacement of Palestinians," he added.
Israeli air strikes hit three Gaza hospitals and a school on Friday, killing at least 27 people, and a ground battle was underway near another hospital, Palestinian officials said, as Israel's forces took on Hamas in the heart of the enclave.
Palestinian officials said 11,078 Gaza residents had been killed as of Thursday, about 40% of them children, in air and artillery strikes, with many others wounded.
Israel says 1,400 people were killed by Hamas in Israel, mostly civilians, and about 240 were taken hostage on Oct. 7, while 39 soldiers have been killed in combat since.
Leaders attending the African-Saudi summit in a joint declaration said military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories needed to stop and civilians must be protected, the state Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Leaders who attended the summit included the presidents of Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Djibouti and Mauritania, the prime ministers of Ethiopia and Niger, and the foreign minister of Egypt.
