ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday condemned renewed Israeli strikes in Gaza, saying the attacks breached the terms of the recent ceasefire and threatened regional stability.
The Gaza truce, brokered by the United States and other mediators, entered into effect on Oct. 10 after an agreement between Hamas and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that included hostages’ release and a phased pull-back of Israeli troops. However, the agreement has already been tested as Israel launched air-strikes within days on allegations that Hamas violated the truce, prompting fresh calls for restraint.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry issued a sharply worded condemnation of the new strikes on Wednesday, saying they “constitute a clear and flagrant violation of international law, as well as a breach of the recently concluded peace agreement.”
“Such aggressive measures by the Israeli occupation forces threaten to undermine the international efforts aimed at establishing durable peace and stability in the region,” the statement added.
Pakistan also reaffirmed its “principled position for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine, based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
It called on the international community “to ensure an immediate cessation of ceasefire violations by the Israeli occupation forces.”
Since Israel launched its military offensive against Gaza in October 2023, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed and at least 169,000 injured, many of them civilians, according to health authorities in the besieged enclave.
The deeper context of the war is one of humanitarian devastation: Gaza has been subject to intense bombardment and sustained blockade, leaving an estimated 90 percent of its housing stock damaged, more than 2 million displaced and growing reports of famine conditions.
