Arab and Muslim ministers urge for end to Gaza war in Beijing meeting

Ministers from several Muslim-majority and Arab countries on Monday gathered in China's capital Beijing, where they held a meeting with the country's top diplomat and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The officials holding meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine, as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The trip to Beijing is the first leg of a diplomatic tour by the coalition to push for an end to Israel's war on Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave.

The delegation is set to meet with the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The meeting in Beijing also comes after a joint Muslim-Arab summit in Riyadh this month, in which the countries urged the International Criminal Court to investigate "war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing" in the Palestinian territories.