Arab Gulf states have warned Israel against further ground operations in the Gaza Strip, with Saudi Arabia denouncing land incursions as “unjustified” and Oman condemning possible “war crimes”, AFP reports.

Saudi Arabia “condemns and denounces any ground operations carried out by Israel due to the threat they pose to the lives of Palestinian civilians”, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on X, formerly Twitter, that an “Israeli ground escalation would have dire consequences for civilians and devastating humanitarian and economic impacts.”

Oman accused Israel of committing “war crimes” in Gaza and warned against any further ground manoeuvres. The escalation in Israel’s “brutal war on the Gaza Strip constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said a foreign ministry statement carried by the official Oman News Agency.

A Qatari foreign ministry statement expressed “complete rejection of the indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip and the attempts to forcibly displace its people”.

The United Arab Emirates, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, “condemned the ground operations by Israel”, said a foreign ministry statement.

Abu Dhabi demanded “an immediate ceasefire to ensure that civilians and civilian institutions are not targeted”, it added.

Kuwait charged that “any ground invasion of Gaza … will prove that the Israeli occupation is determined to continue committing crimes against the brotherly Palestinian people”, according to a foreign ministry statement.

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council also condemned the military escalation in Gaza as a “violation of international law,” urging an immediate end to hostilities.