Pakistan on Tuesday condemned the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian civilians and announced a day of solidarity with them on May 21.
Addressing a press conference in the capital Islamabad, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the day would be observed on the directive of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
But the question is: will it influence Israel which has sustained global pressure?
All provincial governments, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and the Gilgit-Baltistan region will mark the event alongside the federal government.
“We assure our Palestinian brothers and sisters that Pakistan will continue to support them in their just struggle,” Chaudhry said.
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He underlined that Islamabad would send aid to help Palestine deal with the coronavirus pandemic and medical emergency caused by Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
Condemning the Israeli airstrikes on civilians and expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the Shaikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, the minister said the international community must intervene to halt the “massacre.”
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has announced to observe the coming Friday as a day of solidarity with the people of Palestine and to condemn Israeli aggression against them https://t.co/XxfVF9CEf8 #Free_Palestine pic.twitter.com/dUhKi95xCz
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) May 17, 2021
The total number of people killed in the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip has risen to 213, including 61 children, 36 women, and 16 elderly people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday. As many as 1,400 people have also been injured in the attacks.
The Israeli military has staged airstrikes since May 10, leaving behind a massive trail of destruction. Media offices and health centers are among the structures targeted.
Tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk