OIC condemns continued Israeli massacre, war crimes in Gaza

ISLAMABAD: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing Israeli massacre and war crimes, particularly the recent carnage in the Jabalia Camp.

Carried out by the Israeli occupation forces, the attack at the refugee camp destroyed a residential district and killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians, according to a statement issued by the OIC Secretariat in Jeddah.

The OIC at the same time renewed its urgent call upon the international community to intervene immediately to stop this brutal Israeli aggression and provide international protection for the Palestinian civilians.

The Muslim world body also called for the world community’s role to ensure the delivery of basic supplies as well as urgent and lasting humanitarian assistance to them.

Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Hamas fighters stormed across the border on October 7. The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said the strikes have killed more than 8,500 people, mainly civilians.

A day earlier, at least 50 people were killed and scores wounded after an Israeli air attack hit apartment blocks in a residential area of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

In a statement, Gaza’s interior ministry said an Israeli air attack hit apartment blocks in a residential area of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing and wounding dozens.

The director of a nearby Indonesian Hospital says at least 50 people were killed.

Israeli troops push deeper into Gaza, with witnesses reporting heavy clashes after tanks reached a residential area in Gaza City, Al-Jazeera reported.

Bombardments were reported across the besieged territory as Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said that the Gaza Strip has become a graveyard for thousands of children as it feared the prospect of more dying of dehydration.

The UN children’s agency Unicef said there was a risk that the number of child deaths directly from bombardment could become eclipsed.

“Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight,” Unicef spokesman James Elder said in a statement.

“The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day.”

“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” He said the more than one million children living in the Gaza Strip were also suffering from a lack of clean water.