Islamabad called for a ceasefire and voiced support for Palestine
A building in Tel Aviv is damaged by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. © Jack Guez / AFP
Pakistan has urged to immediately end the bloodshed between Hamas militants and Israel, which broke out on Saturday morning. At the same time, Pakistani senior officials condemned Israel for the “brutalization” of Palestinians.
“We are concerned about the human cost of the escalating situation,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It added that Islamabad had been “consistently” calling for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.
“A viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine should be established on the basis of pre-1967 borders,” the ministry said.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi called for “an immediate ceasefire.” He wrote on social media platform X on Sunday that peace cannot be achieved “without condemnation of usurpation and brutalization of Palestinian rights and people by Israel.” He went on to accuse Israel of “continuous annexation of land.”
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On Saturday morning, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israeli cities and military outposts. The Israel Defense Forces responded to the barrage of rockets and ground incursions with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the country was “at war” and vowed to turn all the sites used by Hamas “into rubble.”
Nearly 300 Israelis and at least 232 Palestinians were killed, according to officials from both sides.
