LAHORE: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday to protest Israel’s military strikes on Iran, calling for unity among Muslim nations and stronger action against what they described as Israeli aggression.

Israel’s surprise attack on targets across Iran on Friday has been followed by four days of escalating strikes, as both sides have threatened more devastation in the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies. 

Clutching banners and chanting slogans, protesters in Lahore urged Muslim countries to stand with Iran and resist Israel’s actions.

“The only solution to this is that the atrocity and barbarism that Israel started is put to an end by getting together with Iran,” said Nida Fatima, a student who joined the rally. “For every Muslim, every proud Muslim, every proud individual in any Muslim nation, it is their duty to stand up for Palestine with Iran.”

Hussnain Zaidi, a local marketing manager in his 50s, demanded immediate international pressure on Israel.

“The oppression and brutality that Israel has committed against Iran must end, and the international community must propose a punishment for it so that it does not attempt to destroy any country in the future like Israel did with Gaza,” he told AFP.

The death toll in Iran since Friday has reached at least 224, with 90 percent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said. At least 23 fatalities have been reported in Israel, including in Tel Aviv and Haifa, as per Israel’s national emergency services/.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office has condemned Israeli missile strikes on Iran as a “grave violation of international law” and urged the United Nations to take immediate steps to halt the aggression and hold Israel accountable. 

Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, has for decades called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The Lahore demonstration reflects growing domestic pressure on the Pakistani government to take a stronger stance against Israel as the conflict deepens and oil prices rise, potentially squeezing Pakistan’s economy and foreign exchange reserves.

Israel has long been determined to prevent Iran, its fiercest enemy, from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Since the rise of the Islamic Republic at the end of the 1970s, Iran’s rulers have repeatedly pledged to destroy Israel.