Saudi King Salman chairs cabinet session after recovery from illness

The king had a lung infection diagnosed last week

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz has recovered from a recent bout of illness, and chaired a virtual cabinet session on Tuesday from Jeddah where he expressed gratitude for those who sent him well wishes, the Saudi state news agency (Spa) reported.

“At the beginning of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques thanked his sons and daughters, the people of the kingdom, for their generous feelings and kind prayers,” Spa said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other members of the cabinet also said they were thankful for the King's recovery.

Last week, Saudi Arabia's royal court said King Salman had medical examinations after suffering from fever, joint pain and a lung infection. After the tests that were carried out at the Royal Clinics at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, the King was prescribed a treatment consisting of antibiotics to fight the infection.

King Salman, 88, has been on the throne since 2015.

A number of Arab and regional issues were discussed, including the situation in Palestine, during Tuesday's cabinet meeting.

The cabinet “reiterated its categorical rejection of the Israeli occupying forces' continued blatant violations of all international resolutions and laws”, and emphasised the need for the international community's intervention to alleviate the “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza.

The session took place amid a series of deadly Israeli strikes on Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians.

Following a strike on a refugee camp in Rafah that killed at least 45 people. Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the Israeli air strike.

The kingdom's Foreign Ministry called on the international community “to intervene immediately to halt the massacres” committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.