Arab leaders and Iran’s president are in the Saudi capital Saturday for summits expected to underscore demands that Israel’s war in Gaza end before the violence draws in other countries.

The emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation come after Hamas militants’ bloody October 7 attacks that Israeli officials say left about 1,200 people dead and 239 taken hostage.

Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians and many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Aid groups have joined pleas for a ceasefire, warning of a humanitarian “catastrophe” in Gaza, where food, water and medicine are in short supply.

The Arab League aims to demonstrate “how the Arabs will move on the international scene to stop the aggression, support Palestine and its people, condemn the Israeli occupation, and hold it accountable for its crimes”, the bloc’s assistant secretary-general, Hossam Zaki, said this week.

But Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Friday said it did not “expect anything” from the meeting, criticising Arab leaders for the delay.

“We are not placing our hopes on such meetings, for we have seen their results over many years,” Mohammad al-Hindi, the group’s deputy secretary-general, told a press conference in Beirut.

“The fact that this conference will be held after 35 days (of war) is an indication of its outcomes.”

Israel and its main backer the United States have so far rebuffed demands for a ceasefire, a position that is expected to draw heavy criticism during Saturday’s meetings.

A united “diplomatic front… will generate diplomatic pressure from Arab and Muslim states,” said Saudi analyst Aziz Alghashian.

Criticism from regional leaders so far indicates “that this is not just about Israel-Palestine — this is about what is facilitating Israel to do this, which is basically the United States and the West”, he added.

That clash has been on display during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent visits to the region, as well as during a stop this week in Riyadh by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who met with a number of his Arab counterparts who have called for a ceasefire.

“What we have said is that calling for a ceasefire is understandable, but what we also recognise is that Israel is taking action to secure its own stability and its own security,” Cleverly said on Thursday.

“Of course we want to see this terrible situation resolved as quickly as possible. The immediate challenge is the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza. That’s why we are focusing on that.”

– Raisi to Riyadh –

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s expected attendance at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting will be his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the two Middle East heavyweights reached a surprise rapprochement deal in March, ending seven years of severed ties.

Iran backs Hamas as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Huthi rebels, placing it at the centre of concerns the war could expand.

The conflict has already fuelled cross-border exchanges between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, and the Huthis have claimed responsibility for “ballistic missiles” the rebels said targeted southern Israel.

Analysts say Saudi Arabia feels vulnerable to potential attacks because of its close ties with the Washington and the fact that it was considering normalising ties with Israel before the war broke out.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday condemned “continued violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupation forces,” his first public comments on the war, though Riyadh has levelled similar criticism in multiple statements.

Kim Ghattas, author of a book on the Iran-Saudi rivalry, said during a panel organised by the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington that “the Saudis are hoping that the fact they didn’t normalise yet, and the fact that they have a channel to the Iranians, gives them some protection.”

“And I think the Iranians are hoping that the fact that they’re in touch with the Saudis and maintaining that channel, that it gives them some protection too.”

The executive director of Israeli media advocacy group HonestReporting said on Friday he accepted as “adequate” the denials by four media organisations that they had no previous knowledge of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, adding he was “so relieved”.

Reuters, the Associated Press, CNN and The New York Times issued adamant denials after HonestReporting published an article on Thursday that questioned whether Palestinian photojournalists had tipped off the four outlets, which had used their images.

HonestReporting’s Gil Hoffman told Reuters his organisation had not claimed to know that there had been any prior knowledge by the news groups of the Hamas attack.

“I was so relieved when all four of the media organisations said they didn’t have prior knowledge,” Hoffman said in an interview by telephone about the article.

“We raised questions, we didn’t give answers,” he said. “I still very much think that the questions were legitimate and the answers were adequate from the media organisations themselves.”

He added that there was nothing “problematic” with the two photojournalists from whom Reuters acquired images.

Reuters said it acquired photographs from two Gaza-based freelance photographers who were at the border on the morning of Oct. 7 and with whom it did not have a prior relationship.

HonestReporting also distanced itself from Israeli government accusations that were sparked by its article.

“There are those who took our story and pretended that they knew the answers – the Israeli government, cabinet ministers, various Twitter personalities – we didn’t claim to know,” Hoffman said.

Reacting to the HonestReporting article posted on X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry had described the use of the various images by the four news groups as “a serious violation of journalistic ethics.”

‘SHOCKED’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office wrote on X: “These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics.”

Danny Danon, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party and a former Israeli envoy to the United Nations, wrote on X after the release of the HonestReporting article that the Palestinian photojournalists should be eliminated.

“We will hunt them down together with the terrorists,” he wrote.

Hoffman said he had been “shocked” to read Danon’s comments. He also said: “There are clearly things in the prime minister’s office statement that are not based on fact. We did not say anything firmly.”

Danon and Israel’s government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment in response to Hoffman’s remarks.

“We are deeply concerned about the irresponsibility of HonestReporting in publishing such damaging accusations. Its executive director has accepted that there is no evidence to support the incendiary insinuations in the report,” Reuters said in a statement.

“The baseless speculation in HonestReporting’s post, presented as ‘raising ethical questions,’ has posed grave risks to journalists in the region, including those working for Reuters,” the news agency added.

The AP, CNN and The New York Times referred back to their previously published statements, which included denials that they had any prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack.

‘IDEOLOGICAL PREJUDICE’

Hoffman, who was a veteran reporter with the Jerusalem Post newspaper before joining HonestReporting, defended his group’s decision to post its article without first seeking comment from any of the news organisations it had named.

He said that after the article was posted he had asked his team why they had not sought comment before publication.

“They said ‘well we do not claim to be a news organisation’,” he said. “With media monitoring it’s more effective (to ask for a response) afterwards, in general.”

HonestReporting describes itself on its website as “a charitable organisation” with a mission “to combat ideological prejudice in journalism and the media, as it impacts Israel.”

Hoffman said he thought international media coverage of the ongoing war against Hamas was no longer giving prominence to the Oct. 7 events, when Hamas killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped a further 244, according to an Israeli tally.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza since then has killed more than 11,000 people, according to Palestinian figures.

“(Our) article for two days now has returned the international public discourse to Oct. 7. That alone is a very important accomplishment,” he said.

Despite HonestReporting’s suggestions that the Palestinian photojournalists had secured their images in coordination with Hamas, he said he was “happy” their pictures had been published. “Absolutely I want the world to know what happened on Oct. 7,” he said.

After speaking to Reuters, HonestReporting issued a statement saying: “We unequivocally condemn calls for violence or death threats aimed at bona fide media workers.”

Members of the Pawar family, including NCP leader Sharad Pawar, gathered for a Diwali lunch at his brother’s residence in Pune. Ajit Pawar, who was recently diagnosed with dengue, also attended the celebration. Sharad Pawar expressed happiness over Ajit’s improving health. After the gathering, Ajit Pawar left for Delhi to meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. NCP leader Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, stated that there were no personal differences within the family and that Ajit Pawar required post-dengue care. Despite their political differences, the family maintains strong ties.