Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls for “urgent international intervention to stop the crime of genocide and the displacement of our people in the Gaza Strip,”
Global actors reacted to intense Israel strikes throughout the Palestinian territory in the early hours of Tuesday that killed at least 330 people and violated a hard-fought ceasefire that halted fighting in January.
“The health ministry has recorded more than 330 deaths, most of them Palestinian women and children, and hundreds of wounded, dozens of them in critical condition,” the head of the ministry, Mohammed Zaqut, told AFP.
Gaza’s civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that the military operation was ongoing and affecting schools and camps sheltering displaced people.
Strikes were reported in multiple locations, including northern Gaza, Gaza City and the Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah in central and southern Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for “urgent international intervention to stop the crime of genocide and the displacement of our people in the Gaza Strip,” it said in a post on X.
The United Nations’ Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated.
“Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning … This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately” Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.
China said it was “highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine,” according to foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. She called for the parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster”.
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed his condolences over the passing of eight humanitarian workers from the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations who were killed in the airstrikes in Gaza, The Sun reported.
The Netherlands called on all parties to respect the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, saying “all civilians must be protected.”
“We urge all parties to implement [the ceasefire] in full: the remaining hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must reach those in need, and all hostilities must end permanently,” Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldcamp said in a post on X.
Ben Saul, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, said on X: “I condemn Israel’s violations of the Gaza ceasefire by resuming military strikes & starving civilians by denying humanitarian relief.”
“Australia urges all parties to respect the terms of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal,” Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said on X. “All civilians must be protected.”
The Council on American-Islamic relations said on X: “We strongly condemn the far-right government of indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu for resuming its horrific and genocidal attacks on the men, women and children of Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians in a matter of hours.”
Header image: Men walk carrying the shrouded bodies of young victims who were killed in Israeli bombardment in Gaza City, at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on March 18. — AFP
