ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, passed a unanimous resolution on Thursday condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon, urging the international community to protect Palestinian lives, state-run media reported. 

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and injured thousands more since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. 

Israel’s 13-month military campaign has displaced an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, many of them multiple times. Bombings, movement restrictions and evacuations ordered by Israel’s military block access to health care and keep aid workers from reaching people in need, with aid organizations and charities repeatedly warning of crisis-level hunger affecting nearly two million people.

Israel has also bombed Lebanon and traded missile strikes with Iran since its confrontation with Hamas, sparking fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. The Jewish state’s military campaigns in the Middle East have triggered protests in Pakistan and other parts of the world for the past one year. 

“The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution unanimously condemning Israel’s bombardment extending to many countries,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

The resolution was moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman on behalf of all political parties. 

As per the resolution, the Senate strongly condemned Israel’s blatant disregard for international law, particularly in its actions against Palestine and urged the Jewish state be held accountable.

The Senate also condemned Israel for its “exploitation of the political vacuum” in Syria as the government of Bashar Assad fell to opposition forces earlier this week. 

“This agenda now extends beyond Palestine to violations of the sovereignty of Syria and many other countries,” the resolution said. 

Calling for immediate accountability for Israel’s actions, the Senate also condemned the killing of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) team members in the Middle East. 

Israel has killed 249 UNRWA staff members in its military campaigns carried out up till November this year, it added.

“Such attacks are a blatant violation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302; which mandates UNRWA’s role in providing critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations,” the resolution said. 

Pakistan’s upper house of parliament also condemned the targeted killing of over 180 journalists during Israeli bombings in Gaza along with the destruction of critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and even residential areas.

“The Senate reaffirms Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, recognizing it as a moral, political, and legal obligation. Pakistan reiterates its consistent support for the two-state solution of the Palestinian issue, as enshrined in relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,” the resolution stated. 

The Senate also urged the international community to take action to “protect Palestinian lives, hold Israel accountable for war crimes and ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.”

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms, demanding international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

Pakistan has dispatched a total of 1,273 tons of relief items to the war-affected people of Gaza until Nov. 27, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

The South Asian nation does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

BERLIN: Ukraine’s path to eventual NATO membership is “irreversible,” seven European foreign policy chiefs said at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday.
“We will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” said the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU’s foreign policy chief.
“Ukraine must prevail,” they stressed in a joint declaration after meeting their Ukrainian counterpart.
“We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including reliable long-term provision of military and financial support,” they added.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted the meeting as Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has raged for more than 1,000 days and into its third winter, with Kyiv’s troops under heavy pressure.
The top diplomats vowed to “remain steadfast in our solidarity” and “continue to support Ukraine in its right of self-defense against Russian aggression.”
US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has said solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority, but there are fears in Kyiv that he could try to force big concessions on Ukraine in return for a ceasefire.
The European ministers meeting in Berlin stressed: “There can be no negotiations about peace in Ukraine without Ukrainians and without Europeans by their side.”
They vowed to “stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security.”
The group also said they would “continue to support Ukraine on its path toward accession to the European Union.”