By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and 16 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, have condemned an Israeli airstrike on the surgical ward of a hospital in southern Gaza and urged Washington to press Israel to uphold the ceasefire.
In a joint statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday, the foreign ministers said the attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which they condemned “in the strongest terms”, caused casualties among patients and medical staff in violation of international humanitarian law. The law gives medical facilities and health workers special protection.
The statement was also signed by Algeria, Djibouti, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
The strike hit the surgery ward shortly after midnight on Thursday and left at least six people dead and nearly 30 wounded. The dead include a 13-year-old boy and a surgeon, named by Gaza health officials as Dr Rizk Abu Shaira. It was the deadliest single strike since Israel’s elections last month.
The hospital’s surgery department, which serves about half of Gaza’s two million people, was knocked out of service. Goher Rahbour, a British surgeon volunteering at the hospital, told AFP that a Palestinian doctor with whom he had operated on Wednesday evening was among the dead.
Israel’s military said it carried out the strike to remove a threat after Hamas established a presence in the hospital complex. It said it was targeting Muhammad Abu Ismail, whom it described as commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, and other militants. Hamas denied using the hospital for military purposes.
The ministers also condemned continued Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians, including strikes on tents and other sites sheltering displaced people.
“These attacks undermine the ceasefire and efforts to restore security and stability in Gaza and are inconsistent with US President Donald Trump’s Comprehensive Plan,” the statement said.
They warned that Israeli restrictions on aid, shelter materials and medical supplies were deepening Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe as winter approaches. Inadequate shelter and failing water, sanitation and healthcare services put civilian lives at grave risk, they said, particularly children and infants, who “could once again die from exposure to freezing temperatures”.
The ministers called on Israel to meet its obligations under the Sharm El-Sheikh Agreement, US President Donald Trump’s plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which endorsed the peace framework last year. They said the first-phase commitments were due to take effect on signature and must be implemented “without further delay or additional conditions”, including political and security conditions that impede humanitarian access.
“Urgent humanitarian assistance must proceed independently of progress on subsequent phases,” they said. They also called on Israel to let UN agencies and humanitarian organisations work without obstruction.
The statement urged the US and Trump’s Board of Peace, “within their respective roles”, to intensify efforts to ensure Israel’s full compliance and the lifting of all restrictions on aid entering Gaza. That, the ministers said, would preserve the credibility of the agreements and consolidate the ceasefire.
The Board of Peace, set up to oversee implementation of the US president’s Gaza plan, called for the agreement to be implemented immediately after the attack but stopped short of directly condemning Israel. Hamas accused the board of adopting the Israeli narrative, and the United Nations has denounced the strike.
The board had already criticised Israel earlier this week. On Monday it said Israel needed to act immediately to help Gaza cope with the coming winter, describing the situation as an “immediate humanitarian emergency” and saying measures taken ahead of deadly floods were insufficient. Israel’s military has said more than 8,200 trucks carrying blankets, waterproof sheets, winter clothing and other supplies have entered Gaza, along with more than 91,000 tents.
The ceasefire took effect in October 2025. Backed by Washington and later endorsed by the UN Security Council, it provided for more humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, Israeli military withdrawals, the disarmament of Hamas and transitional arrangements for governing and rebuilding Gaza. Implementation of key provisions has stalled over disagreements between Israel and Hamas about the next stages.
Gaza health officials say at least 1,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce began, while Israel says four of its soldiers have died. Israel accuses Hamas of trying to regroup and rearm, and Hamas says it remains committed to the agreement.
The ministers said they were determined to work with regional and international partners to consolidate the ceasefire, implement all phases of the plan and scale up aid to the Palestinian people.
Nasser Hospital is the last major referral hospital operating in southern Gaza. Thursday’s strike was the seventh time it has been hit.
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