Pakistan weighs in on Hamas-Israel hostilities

Islamabad has called for a ceasefire and voiced support for Palestine

Pakistan has called for an immediate end to the bloodshed between Hamas militants and Israel, which broke out on Saturday morning. Nonetheless, senior officials in Islamabad also condemned West Jerusalem 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 (formerly Twitter) on Sunday that peace could not be achieved “without condemnation of usurpation and brutalization of Palestinian rights and people by Israel.” He went on to accuse Israel of the “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 Gaza. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his country was “at war” and vowed to turn all the sites used by Hamas “into rubble.”

The death toll of Israelis and Palestinians is above 300 dead on each side, according to officials from both sides.