Saudi defense minister discusses Gaza situation with UK, Italian counterparts

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister Prince Khalid bin Salman received a call from his UK counterpart Grant Shapps on Monday.

During the call, the two ministers reviewed strategic relations and defense cooperation, Prince Khalid posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“We also discussed the situation in Gaza and I stressed the need to de-escalate, cease military operations, and uphold international law to protect innocent lives,” Prince Khalid added.

https://x.com/kbsalsaud/status/1714022865245175927?s=20

Prince Khalid later received Italian defense minister Guido Crosetto.

The pair reviewed Saudi-Italian relations and explored opportunities to enhance defense cooperation.

“We also discussed recent developments in Gaza, and I emphasized the importance of de-escalating the situation,” Prince Khalid added.

In a different meeting, Prince Khalid and Turkmen counterpart Begench Gundogdyyev discussed recent events in Gaza and the importance of protecting innocent civilian lives.

On Monday, more than one million people had fled their homes in Gaza as Israel bombarded the Hamas-ruled territory and continued massing troops in preparation for a full-blown ground invasion.