ISLAMABAD: Members of Pakistan's civil society expressed solidarity with Palestinians as they gathered at the Palestinian embassy in Islamabad on Sunday, in the wake of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian territory have killed at least 181 people, including 52 children, and injured over 1,225 since last week, according to Gazan health authorities.
"Pakistanis feel Palestinians close to their heart. We feel their pain," said Ahsan Ali, a lawyer who came from Gujranwala in Punjab to attend the embassy event.
He added: "Our feeling for them is the same as we feel for our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Both Israel and India are occupant forces and are committing war crimes, genocide and snatching the land from their rightful owners. We will support their struggle till the day they get their own state."
Naveed Akbar, senior journalist representing the National Press Club Islamabad, said: "Israeli forces are indiscriminately targeting innocent civilians, children and now media outlets."
On Saturday, an Israeli air raid flattened a building housing residential apartments and the offices of news organizations, including the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and local media.
"They wanted to silence the voices and hide their war crimes, but they will not succeed. Pakistani media and journalists will raise their voice for their Palestinian brothers and sisters," Akbar said.
The 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 attacks followed protests by Palestinians as Israeli forces tried to expel them from their houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem and hand over their property to Jewish settlers.
Pakistan has condemned all the attacks and on Sunday, during a special emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), called on the international community to immediately stop the Israeli violence and hold Israel accountable for crimes against humanity.
“We are thankful to Pakistani people and government for all the time supporting us," Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed Jawad A.A. Rabei told Arab News.
He also welcomed the special OIC session which was held at Saudi Arabia's request.
"Saudi foreign minister spoke in today’s OIC meeting on Palestine and supported us," Rabei said. "They also are a vibrant force in United Nations Security Council meeting on Palestine issue. I hope that they will take strong decision for the solution of the issue."
The current 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.
