WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said there can be no normalization of ties with Israel without resolving the Palestinian issue, he told CNN in an interview that aired on Sunday.

Asked if there could be no normal ties without a path to a credible and irreversible Palestinian state, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told CNN's Fareed Zakaria: "That's the only way we're going to get the benefit. So, yes, because we need stability and only stability will come through the resolving the Palestinian issue."

The foreign minister's remarks were part of an interview originally taped on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held last week in Davos, Switzerland, and aired Sunday on CNN.

De-escalation of the conflict in Gaza and halting civilian deaths is a key focus of Saudi Arabia, the minister said.

"What we are seeing is the Israelis are crushing Gaza, the civilian population of Gaza," he said. "This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and has to stop."

The local health ministry in Gaza says more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 62,000 wounded in Israel's assault on the region since an Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Deepa Babington)