KHARTOUM, Sudan

The head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Friday called for an immediate halt to Israeli “aggression” against Gaza.

During his speech at the Saudi-African Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Al-Burhan said, "We are following with concern what is happening in the Gaza Strip in terms of destruction, killing, and displacement," the Sovereignty Council's Media Office said in a statement.

“We declare our full solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to establish their legitimate state on the 1967 borders,” he said.

Al-Burhan called for "an immediate halt to the aggression against Gaza and its people, and for them to be allowed to obtain their rights to a decent life."

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip – including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship – since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 11,078 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,506 children and 3,027 women. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi