The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia denounced, today, Friday, the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and attacks on “defenseless civilians,” its strongest language criticizing Israel since the war broke out.

Riyadh “affirms its categorical rejection of calls for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people from Gaza, and its condemnation of the continued targeting of defenseless civilians there,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Thousands of Palestinians fled to southern Gaza in search of refuge on Friday after Israel called for over a million of them to evacuate the north of the blockaded enclave before an expected ground offensive.

It comes amid continued strikes on the strip in retaliation for a surprise weekend attack by Hamas, the deadliest in Israel’s history.

The Saudi statement was published as United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, arrived in Riyadh as part of a six-nation tour of Arab countries.