Israel’s incursion in Gaza is expected to get top billing at a Saudi Arabian-hosted special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which begins today, Al Jazeera reports.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, the capital of the world’s biggest crude oil exporter.

“The world is today walking a tightrope… trying to balance security and prosperity,” Saudi Planning Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim told a news conference previewing the event.

Borge Brende, the WEF president, also said that there was “some new momentum now in the talks around the hostages, and also for… a possible way out of the impasse we are faced with in Gaza”.

However, there will be no Israeli participation at the summit and Brende noted that formal mediation involving Qatar and Egypt was unfolding elsewhere.