- Army Chief extends condolences to Palestinian Ambassador over loss of lives in ongoing war
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir met with Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan Ahmad Jawad Rabei at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday to express condolences on the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza.
He expressed grave concern over unabated violence and the willful, indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in the ongoing war, according to a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Earlier today, the Palestinian health ministry said at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in two weeks of strikes, including 2,055 children, the health ministry said.
General Syed Asim Munir, NI(M), Chief of Army Staff (#COAS) met the Ambassador of #Palestine to #Pakistan, His Excellency Ahmad Jawad Rabei at General Headquarters today. #Gaza #PakistanArmy
COAS expressed condolences on the loss of Palestinian lives in the ongoing… pic.twitter.com/XhgElndt6U
— Pakistan Armed Forces News 🇵🇰 (@PakistanFauj) October 24, 2023
Israel pounded hundreds of targets in Gaza from the air on Monday as its soldiers fought Hamas fighters during raids into the besieged Palestinian strip where civilians are trapped in harrowing conditions.
“Incessant attacks on the civilian population, schools, universities, aid workers, hospitals and the forced exodus of Palestinians from Gaza are the manifestation of crimes against humanity,” stated the military’s media wing.
The COAS reiterated the call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the opening of a humanitarian corridor in Gaza.
He stressed on the protection of civilians besides adherence to the International Humanitarian Law in the ongoing crisis.
Moreover, the COAS reiterated Pakistan’s principled support for an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine established on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
“Pakistan believes that the fresh spate of violence in Gaza is the result of unabated repression, continued human rights violations and state-sponsored sacrilege of Al Aqsa mosque,” said COAS Munir.
“Conflating this war with terrorism would be naive; taking a narrow and self-serving view of the issue as an isolated attack, obscures brutal oppression spanning decades that has led to this outcome,” he added.
“At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the international community mobilizes to put an early end to the unfolding human tragedy due to disproportionate and unlawful use of force by IDF and desist from encouraging them to continue perpetrating atrocities in violation of all norms of civility and humane conduct,” the army’s media wing quoted him as saying.
