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.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday that Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Revanth Reddy will win from both the constituencies he is contesting from and will defeat Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in Kamareddy.

Telangana will go to assembly elections on November 30 and Revanth Reddy will contest from two seats, Kodangal and Kamareddy. In Kamareddy, he will contest against Telangana Chief Minister.

Siddaramaiah inaugurated the “Resolution of Backward Classes” conference organised by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday, which was held in the Kamareddy assembly constituency.

While addressing the event, he said, “We have implemented five guarantees within 100 days. In Telangana, too six guarantees including one bonus will be implemented in 100 days.”

Responding to the Telangana Chief Minister’s remark that guarantee schemes have not been implemented in Karnataka, the Chief Minister asked KCR to visit Karnataka. He invited KCR for an open discussion saying how Karnataka government implemented five guarantee schemes.

“Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are the same. BRS is working as a B team of BJP in Telangana,” Siddaramaiah said.

He said that Mr Reddy is certain to win from both constituencies and defeat KCR in the Telangana assembly polls.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks as if he has taken an avatar for the welfare of the underprivileged. But in the nine years of his governance as the Prime Minister, he did not implement any programmes for the welfare of the backward and the Dalits. Instead, he has pushed the backward people even more backwards”, the Chief Minister said.

Hitting out at the KCR-led government in Telangana, the Chief Minister said that even after 10 years of his governance, it did not take the state on the path of development.

“Even though KCR has been in power for 10 years, he did not take Telangana on the path of development, instead he has indulged in corruption. Prime Minister Modi has ruined the country’s economy in these 10 years. The people of Karnataka understood this and were awakened. The people of Telangana should also understand the same thing,” Siddaramaiah said.

He said that KCR and BRS have supported all the anti-people schemes implemented by PM Modi and they are also anti-people.

Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the BJP, the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and the Congress in the upcoming assembly election.

Telangana will go to assembly elections on November 30 and counting of votes, along with those of four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3.

In the previous Assembly elections in 2018, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), then known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), won 88 of the 119 seats, hogging 47.4 per cent of the total vote share. The Congress came in a distant second with just 19 seats.

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.