Following the deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza at the hands of Israeli forces, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced the suspension of diplomatic coordination with Israel, as reported by Israeli media.
According to a Tel Aviv-based news channel citing official sources, the Emirati foreign ministry has expressed outrage to Israeli ambassador Amir Hayek regarding the incident.
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, reportedly reached out to his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed, via phone to address the situation.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to seek resolution, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Yaakov Blitshtein, held discussions with Ambassador Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Khaja.
Ambassador Al-Khaja described the current state of relations between the two countries as “the darkest day.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the killing of the workers was unintentional.
The UAE, a signatory to the US-brokered Abraham Accord deals in September 2020, had previously normalized ties with Israel.