ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said on Saturday it is closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the Middle East, and the eruption of hostilities between Israel and Palestinians.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement said, :We are concerned about the human cost of the escalating situation”.
Pakistan has consistently advocated for a two-state solution as the key to enduring peace in the Middle East, with a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian question anchored in international law and in line with relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions, she said.
Balochi said a viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine should be established on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The FO spokesperson said, “We call on the international community to come together for the cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and for a lasting peace in the Middle East”.
The Israeli death toll has surged to 100 as Hamas-led Palestinians launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. Around 200 Palestinians have so far been martyred and 1,610 wounded in the Gaza Strip after Israel lunched retaliatory air strikes.
The Palestinian health ministry said up until 4:20 pm (1320 GMT) there were “198 martyrs and 1,610 wounded with different injuries” in the ongoing conflict.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Tel Aviv is “at war” with Hamas, adding that the group would “pay a price that it hasn’t known until now.”
“We are at war,” Netanyahu said. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”
