Pakistan reaffirms support for Palestine as Israel renews deadly airstrikes on Gaza

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan reaffirmed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday Pakistan’s support for Palestine, as Israel renewed deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on the first day of Eid Al-Fitr.
The violence flared on Monday, when Israel dropped bombs on the self-governing Palestinian territory, which have since killed more than 83 Palestinians, including children, and wounded hundreds of others, according to Palestinian health authorities.
In response to the airstrikes, Hamas, which controls Gaza, fired rockets into Israel, killing seven people, Israeli military said.
The flareup is the deadliest outbreak of violence in the region since the seven-week Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, during which 2,300 Palestinians were killed and over 10,000 wounded as Israeli forces bombed residential buildings, hospitals and schools.
In a letter to Abbas, President Alvi conveyed his “deep sadness and concern over the series of violent attacks perpetrated by Israeli occupying forces.”
He reaffirmed “Pakistan’s abiding support for a just settlement of the Palestine issue in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and for the establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds-Al-Sharif as its capital.” 
“I reassure you of our efforts in mobilizing the international community for the Palestinian cause and to continue raising voice for the Palestinian people,” Alvi wrote.
PM Khan, meanwhile, held a phone call with Abbas, during which he “reassured President Abbas of Pakistan’s efforts in mobilizing the international community against such flagrant violations of human rights and international law,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“Prime Minister condemned the attacks on innocent worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque and lethal air strikes by Israel in Gaza, resulting in the death of so many civilians, including children.”
The latest wave of violence in the Middle East escalated in the final days of the fasting month of Ramadan after Israeli police fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and stun grenades at Palestinians gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem — the third holiest site in Islam.
The violence was triggered by protests and clashes as Israeli forces tried to expel Palestinians from their houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem and hand over their property to Jewish settlers.