Morocco slams international 'inaction' over Gaza

Morocco expressed "great concern and deep indignation" over "the worsening of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip", a foreign ministry statement said on Thursday.

It said Rabat regrets "the inaction" of the international community and the United Nations Security Council's "failure to assume its responsibilities".

The statement condemned what it called "the inability of influential countries to put an end to this catastrophic situation".

Israel's "acts of escalation are in contradiction with international humanitarian law and common human values", it said.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 9,000 people, mostly civilians and including 3,760 children, have been killed in Palestinian territory since the bloody attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7.

At least 1,400 Israelis, also mostly civilians, were killed during these attacks, during which at least 242 people were kidnapped and taken back to Gaza, Israeli authorities said.

Morocco, which normalised diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, called "for a de-escalation leading to a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors".

It also called for "the release of prisoners and detainees with the obligation to open a political perspective to the Palestinian issue that allows the relaunch of the two-state solution".

Despite their 2020 rapprochement, Morocco regularly reaffirms its commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Since the war began, Moroccans have demonstrated in large numbers in solidarity with the Palestinian people and against the normalisation of ties with Israel.