ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday condemned Israel’s attack on a school in Gaza, saying it had “crossed all limits” following international media reports of nearly 100 fatalities in what appears to be one of the deadliest strikes since the war began in October last year.
A civil defense official in Gaza informed the media that three Israeli rockets had targeted the school, which housed displaced Palestinians uprooted by 10 months of war in the area.
He also said the death toll was between 90 and 100, with dozens more wounded in the attack.
The Israeli military, however, said it had targeted an active “military facility,” adding that the strike had killed around 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members.
“Israel has crossed all limits with its brutal actions,” the prime minister said in an official statement. “An attack on schoolchildren is open aggression. Such barbarity is unprecedented in history.”
“The international community, including the United Nations, should take practical steps to stop Israel’s brutality,” he added.
Sharif prayed for all the people who lost their lives in the attack and expressed condolences to their families.
“We once again reiterate our demand that the Israeli leadership and security forces be brought to justice for the genocide and war crimes against Palestinians,” he continued. “Israel should be severely punished for its cruel actions.”
The prime minister also referred to the verdict of the top United Nations court earlier this year in May wherein it ordered Israel to halt its offensive of the southern city of Rafah and withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
“The International Court of Justice’s decision against Israel should be enforced,” he said.
Sharif also noted that Pakistan would continue to extend moral and diplomatic support to Palestinians on every front.
Israel launched its air and ground offensive targeting Gaza following the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian group maintained its attack was in response to the deteriorating conditions faced by Palestinian people living under occupation.
Israel’s response was widely viewed as disproportionate by the international community, with nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, having lost their lives so far.
Pakistan PM condemns Israel’s Gaza school strike that killed nearly 100 Palestinians
https://arab.news/g828z
Pakistan PM condemns Israel’s Gaza school strike that killed nearly 100 Palestinians
- Sharif urges the international community to halt Israel’s war, calling its recent attack ‘unprecedented’
- He calls for the enforcement of an ICJ ruling demanding Israel cease its offensive, withdraw from Gaza
Pakistan and Italy mark 70 years of archaeological cooperation in Swat
- Founded in 1955, Italy’s Swat mission has led excavations and conservation work at major Gandhara sites
- Italian archaeologists have also contributed to training Pakistani researchers and museum development
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Italy marked 70 years of archaeological cooperation, said an official statement on Sunday, with officials highlighting decades of joint work in preserving ancient sites in the country’s northwest, where Italian researchers have played a central role in documenting and conserving remnants of the Gandhara civilization.
The Italian Archaeological Mission in Swat was established in 1955 by Italian scholar Giuseppe Tucci, a leading expert on Asian art and religions, with the aim of studying, excavating and preserving Buddhist and pre-Islamic sites in what is now Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Over the decades, the mission has become one of the longest-running foreign archaeological projects in the country, working closely with Pakistani authorities and academic institutions.
“Pakistan is committed to advancing archaeological research, conservation and education, and looks forward to deepening cooperation with Italy in both scope and dimension,” Pakistan’s Minister for National Heritage and Culture Aurangzeb Khan Khichi said while addressing a ceremony in Rome marking the mission’s anniversary.
The event was organized by Italy’s International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies (ISMEO), with support from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the University of Venice, and was attended by Pakistani and Italian academics, diplomats and cultural officials.
The Italian mission was originally conceived to systematically document Buddhist sites in the Swat Valley, once a major center of the ancient Gandhara civilization, which flourished from around the first century BCE and became a crossroads of South Asian, Central Asian and Hellenistic influences.
Since its inception, the mission has led or supported excavations and conservation work at several key sites, including Barikot, believed to be ancient Bazira mentioned by classical sources, as well as Butkara and Saidu Sharif, helping establish chronologies, preserve stupas and monasteries and train generations of Pakistani archaeologists.
Italian researchers have also worked with local authorities on site protection, museum development and post-conflict rehabilitation, particularly after natural disasters and periods of unrest that threatened archaeological heritage in the region.
The anniversary program featured sessions on the history of the mission, its collaboration with the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and future research areas such as archaeobotany, epigraphy and geoarchaeology.
The event was moderated by Professor Luca Maria Olivieri of the University of Venice, who has been associated with archaeological fieldwork in Pakistan for nearly four decades and was awarded Pakistan’s Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his contributions to heritage preservation.
Officials said the mission’s longevity reflected a rare continuity in international cultural cooperation and underscored Pakistan’s efforts to protect its archaeological legacy through partnerships with foreign institutions.
