Qatar on Friday evening voiced its strong condemnation of Israeli “aggression” against the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stressed “the need for the international community to act urgently to stop the repeated attacks by the occupation against civilians, especially women and children.”
The statement reiterated Qatar’s “firm” position on the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and the establishment of their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Earlier Friday, the Israeli army said that it began launching raids targeting members of the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip.
Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab announced that “Israel had assassinated Tayseer al-Jabari, a prominent leader in the armed wing of the movement, Saraya al-Quds.”
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The Gaza-based Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes resulted in 10 deaths, including a 5-year-old girl and injuries to 44 other Palestinians.
Türkiye on Saturday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and said it is ‘unacceptable that civilians, including children, lose their lives in attacks.”
The Foreign Ministry urged “restraint and common sense” amid rising tension in the region following the deadly attacks on the blockaded enclave.
“We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region after the attacks. We emphasize the need to end these events before they turn into a new spiral of conflict,” it said.
Earlier, the UN envoy for the Middle East Peace Process said he is “deeply concerned by the ongoing escalation between Palestinian militants and Israel, including the targeted killing today of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader inside Gaza.”
The joint operations room of the Palestinian resistance has announced that the response to the barbaric Israeli aggression against Gaza is forthcoming and the resistance will not tolerate terror against the Palestinian people. https://t.co/p7p05Viqgi
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) August 5, 2022
“In the past few hours, at least 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes. I am deeply saddened by reports that a five-year-old child has been killed in these strikes. There can be no justification for any attacks against civilians,” Tor Wennesland added.
He called the continuing escalation “very dangerous” and urged an immediate end to rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.
“And I call on all sides to avoid further escalation,” he said.
Wennesland said the current situation will jeopardize humanitarian efforts to help rebuild Gaza.
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He vowed that the UN is “fully engaged” with all parties to “avoid a further conflict which would have devastating consequences, mainly for civilians.”
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According to an Anadolu Agency reporter in Gaza, Israeli warplanes hit separate areas in Gaza City, Khan Yunis and the northern Gaza Strip. Among the targets that the army raided was an apartment in Burj Palestine, in the Rimal neighborhood in western Gaza City.
The Palestinian Authority also urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop the aggression against Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, and provide residents with international protection.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk