Pakistan calls for cessation of Gaza ceasefire violations after Israeli strikes kill over 100

ISLAMABAD/GAZA: Pakistan on Wednesday called for the immediate cessation of Gaza ceasefire violations by Israel after the latter’s strike on the Palestinian enclave killed more than 100 people.

Gaza’s health ministry said at least 104 people were killed after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory yesterday, accusing Hamas of violating the truce by killing a soldier, which the group denied.

The renewed Israeli bombardment prompted strong condemnation from Pakistan, one of the eight Muslim countries that worked with the United States on President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“These actions constitute a clear and flagrant violation of international law, as well as a breach of the recently concluded peace agreement,” the FO said, warning that such “aggressive measures by the Israeli occupation forces threaten to undermine the international efforts aimed at establishing durable peace and stability in the region”.

“Pakistan calls upon the international community to ensure an immediate cessation of ceasefire violations by the Israeli occupation forces,” it added.

The statement reiterated Pakistan’s principled position for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

“At least 101 fatalities were brought to hospitals, including 35 children and a number of women and elderly, as a result of Israeli air strikes in less than 12 hours,” said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency.

“The Israeli strikes targeted tents for displaced people, homes and the vicinity of a hospital in the Strip,” Bassal told AFP. The agency’s toll was confirmed by an AFP tally of reports from medical officials at five Gaza hospitals that received the dead and wounded.

The territory’s main Al-Shifa hospital said one of the strikes hit its backyard.

Al-Awda Hospital said it had received several bodies, including those of four children, killed in the bombing of Gaza’s central Nuseirat refugee camp.

“We had just started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives, when the bombardment came back,” said Khadija al-Husni, who lives in a tent at a school in the Al-Shati refugee camp.

“It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war — it can’t be both. The children couldn’t sleep; they thought the war was over.”

Gaza civil defence agency’s Bassal called the strikes “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

However, Trump insisted that “nothing“ wouldjeopardise the truce he helped broker.

During a trip to Asia, the US president defended the actions of its longtime ally Israel, saying, “They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back.”

The Israeli military said today it had reinstated the Gaza ceasefire, claiming that “dozens of terror targets and terrorists were struck”.

It said its military forces and the Israel Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, “struck 30 terrorists holding command positions” within fighter groups operating in Gaza.

Israel warns Hamas leadership will have no immunity

Separately, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas leaders today that they would have no immunity after a wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, which Tel Aviv said was carried out in response to an attack on its troops.

“There will be no immunity for anyone in the leadership of the terrorist organisation Hamas — neither for those in suits nor for those hiding in tunnels,” Katz said, referring to several Hamas political leaders residing in Doha.

“Whoever raises a hand against an [Israeli] soldier, his hand will be severed. The [Israeli military] has been instructed to act decisively against every Hamas target and will continue to do so.”

Qatar has played a key mediating role in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, and is among the guarantors of the fragile peace deal, along with the US, Egypt, and Turkiye.

On September 9, Israel targeted Hamas negotiators in Doha, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The attack triggered widespread condemnation and drew a rebuke from Trump as well.

Weeks later, Israel and Hamas accepted a 20-point peace plan presented by Trump that called for the release of Gaza hostages and Palestinian prisoners, as well as a ceasefire after two years of deadly conflict.

Subsequently, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will head to Turkiye next week to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of the eight countries that worked on the Gaza peace plan to discuss the next steps.

Officials have said Pakistan is expected to announce soon whether it will contribute troops to the International Stabilisation Force being assembled for Gaza. The reported chances of Islamabad doing so have raised questions among Pakistani politicians and journalists. Monitoring Desk