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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Wednesday demanded Israel immediately cease its bombardment of the besieged Gaza strip, state-run Radio Pakistan said, as casualties mounted amid an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
Israeli jets pounded several targets throughout the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday night and Wednesday after Hamas’ surprise attack against the Jewish state over the weekend.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, over 1,000 people have been killed and more than 5,000 injured since Saturday. Israel says at least 1,200 were killed in the Hamas raid.
Israel has put Gaza under “total siege” to stop food and fuel reaching the enclave of 2.3 million people, many poor and dependent on aid. Hamas media said on Wednesday electricity went out after the only power station stopped working.
“The Caretaker Federal Cabinet has demanded immediate cessation of bombardment in Gaza and ending of illegal siege of the territory, allowing international assistance to reach victims,” Radio Pakistan said in a report.
The announcement followed a meeting of the federal cabinet chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in which the Middle East crisis was discussed and the cabinet strongly condemned Israel’s bombardment and expressed “serious concerns” about the shortage of food and water in Gaza.
“The Information Minister [Murtaza Solangi] said the cabinet unanimously emphasized that recent tension is a result of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories for the last two decades,” the report said.
The cabinet reiterated its position that a separate homeland for the Palestinians, based on pre-1967 borders as per UN resolutions, was the only solution to the crisis.
Separately, hundreds of protesters marched across Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, on Wednesday to denounce Israeli actions against Palestinians.
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