Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council call for end to hostilities in Gaza

The Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Saturday urged to end fighting in Gaza after Israeli forces launched an operation following an Hamas offensive.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Israel's "continued violent and extremist policies is tantamount to a time bomb that deprives the region of any serious opportunities for stability in the foreseeable future."

GCC Secretary General Jassim Al-Budaiwi also called for the immediate halt in escalation, and held the Israeli army responsible for the situation after violence against the Palestinian people and storming of holy sites.

The group running the Gaza Strip said its operation was in response to the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.

In retaliation, the Israeli army initiated a "large-scale operation to defend Israeli civilians against the combined attack."

At least 198 Palestinians have been killed, according to medical sources in Gaza, while Israeli officials put their death toll to more than 100.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressing a Security Cabinet meeting on Saturday, said the country has been at war, and the objective of his forces is to clear out the "hostile forces," "exact an immense price from the enemy," and "reinforce other fronts so that nobody should mistakenly join this war."