Pakistan, Iran agree on urgent steps to prevent Gaza conflict escalation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have agreed on taking urgent steps to prevent Gaza conflict from escalating, ARY News reported on Monday.

Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani telephonically spoke to his counterparts from Iran and Egypt and discussed the crisis in Gaza including the killing of civilians.

The foreign minister, in the conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hossien Amir Abdollahian, also discussed the large-scale displacement of the Palestinians from their homes.

Both sides agreed that urgent steps were needed to prevent conflict from escalating and the provision of humanitarian assistance as part of efforts for a coordinated response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

FM Jilani also spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.

In the conversation, the stressed preventing conflict from escalating, protecting civilians from collective punishment, starvation and displacement. The foreign minister also assured of Pakistan’s humanitarian assistance.

Assistance to Gaza

In view of the human tragedy unfolding in Gaza, Pakistan has decided to immediately dispatch humanitarian relief assistance to Gaza, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian brothers and sisters.

In a statement, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said that in the wake of indiscriminate Israeli aggression and siege of the Gaza Strip, the already oppressed people of densely-populated Gaza were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

In this regard, Pakistan has decided to dispatch humanitarian relief assistance to Gaza in an effort to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians.

“The Government of Pakistan is coordinating with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, relevant UN agencies, the Government of Egypt and Pakistan Missions abroad to finalise modalities of delivery,” the statement added.

Israel has declared war on Hamas after its fighters broke through the heavily fortified border and killed more than 1,400 people.

Israel has responded with relentless bombing, killing at least 2,670 people, the majority ordinary Palestinians, in the blockaded and impoverished Gaza Strip.