Arab League calls for ‘binding’ UN Security Council resolution to halt Israeli war on Gaza

The Arab League called Monday on the UN Security Council to issue a "binding" resolution for halting a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The call came following an emergency meeting held by the Cairo-based body at the level of permanent delegates upon a request from Palestine to discuss ways of halting the Israeli war, which has killed more than 25,000 people since Oct. 7.

A resolution adopted by the pan-Arab organization called on the UN Security Council "to assume its responsibilities to maintain international peace and security, and to take a binding resolution to stop the widespread, systematic Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people."

It also urged the US and countries "that pursue double standards and support the Israeli aggression within the Security Council, to follow positions consistent with international law to call for a complete and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza."

The Arab League called for obligating Israel "to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, lift the siege and curb its plans and efforts aimed at forced displacement."

It also condemned the "escalating Israeli crimes in the occupied West Bank, including the systematic destruction of Palestinian refugee camps and their infrastructure."

Monday's meeting was not attended by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, who is currently in Brussels to attend a meeting with the foreign ministers of the EU, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,295 Palestinians and injuring 63,000. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.