Attacks undermine international efforts to bring lasting peace and stability to the region
Police officers stand guard outside the main gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. Photo: File
Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the attacks carried out by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in the deaths of several Palestinian civilians, including women and children, and left many injured.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) said: “Such actions constitute a blatant violation of international law, relevant UN resolutions and the recently concluded peace agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh.
These attacks also undermine international efforts to bring lasting peace and stability to the region.
The Government of Pakistan reiterates its call on the international community to take immediate action to end impunity and ceasefire violations by Israel, and to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law.
Pakistan reaffirms its principled position in favor of the creation of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian State, based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Read: 22 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza despite ceasefire
Earlier, 22 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in a series of Israeli airstrikes that hit houses and a vehicle in several areas of the Gaza Strip, constituting a new violation of the ceasefire in force since October 10.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said in a video statement that women, children and the elderly were among the victims of the attacks that destroyed entire buildings.
He said five people were killed and others injured after an Israeli drone strike targeting a civilian vehicle near Abbas Crossing in western Gaza City.
In the same city, four Palestinians were killed when an Israeli strike hit a house on al-Labbabidi Street.
Learn more: 22 dead in new Israeli strikes in Gaza
In the central Gaza Strip, Bassal said two Palestinians were killed and others injured when an Israeli strike targeted a house near the Bilal bin Rabah mosque in western Deir al-Balah.
In the Nuseirat refugee camp, three Palestinians were killed when an Israeli strike hit a house next to Al-Awda Hospital.
Also in Nuseirat, seven Palestinians were killed after an Israeli strike hit a house in Camp 2.
Bassal did not specify where the additional deaths occurred.
Israeli forces also shot and wounded three Palestinians near the al-Bureij camp in central Gaza and Jabalia in the north, medics said.
The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces had “eliminated” a shooter after he crossed the yellow line.
At dawn, Israeli forces also carried out strikes on areas east of al-Bureij and Deir al-Balah, as well as eastern Rafah and Khan Younis to the south, as well as parts of the Tuffah and Shujaiya neighborhoods to the east of Gaza City.
The casualties came as the Israeli army blew up buildings and residential facilities by carrying out airstrikes and detonating vehicle bombs in the eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, which fall under the Israeli-controlled Yellow Zone in the southern Gaza Strip.
Read also: Israeli raid near Ramallah kills two Palestinian teenagers
Similar airstrikes and explosions were reported in the Al-Tuffah and Shujaiya neighborhoods, as well as artillery shelling and occasional fire from Israeli military vehicles positioned on the edge of the yellow zone, witnesses said.
On Friday, the Israeli army targeted Palestinian buildings in army-controlled areas in Khan Younis, Gaza City, the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and the Jabalia refugee camp in the north.
Israel continues to occupy more than 50% of the Gaza Strip under the ceasefire agreement, with the “yellow line” separating areas under military deployment from those inhabited by Palestinians.
Recently, the Israeli army has intensified its attacks east of the Yellow Line, destroying large areas and making neighboring areas very dangerous for civilians.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mainly women and children, injured more than 170,800 people and reduced the enclave to ruins. The assault ended thanks to a ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10.
