Pakistan, Turkiye express grave concerns over dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with Foreign Minister of Turkiye Hakan Fidan and both leaders reviewed Pak–Turkiye bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on current regional and international developments.

“They also expressed grave concerns at the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. The DPM/FM condemned the Israeli plan for a complete military takeover, calling it a flagrant violation of international law and UNSC resolutions,” Foreign Office Spokesperson, on Sunday, said in a press statement.

DPM/FM Dar also stressed the urgent need for providing unimpeded humanitarian assistance, and an end to Israeli impunity.

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s plans to expand military control over the enclave have pushed Germany to curb arms exports to Israel, a historically fraught step for Berlin driven by a growing public outcry.

Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, hitherto a staunchly pro-Israel leader, made the announcement on Friday arguing that Israel’s actions would not achieve its stated war goals of eliminating Hamas or bringing Israeli hostages home.

It is a bold move for a leader who after winning elections in February said he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to Germany in defiance of an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister issued by the International Criminal Court.

The shift reflects how Germany’s come-what-may support for Israel, rooted in its historical guilt over the Nazi Holocaust, is being tested like never before as the high Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza, massive war destruction and images of starving children are chipping away at decades of policy.