CAIRO: Saudi Arabia will host an extraordinary joint Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry said late on Friday.

The kingdom was scheduled to host two extraordinary summits, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit and the Arab League summit, on Saturday. The joint summit will replace the two separate gatherings, the ministry said.

The joint meeting "will be held in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position," it said.

The decision was taken after the Kingdom consulted with the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, according to the statement.