By Anadolu Agency
August 10, 2024 2:45 pmANKARA
The Muslim world on Saturday condemned Israel’s bombing of a school in Gaza sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City.
At least 100 people were killed and several others were injured as the Israeli aircraft targeted Palestinians performing fajr (dawn) prayers at the Al-Taba’een School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and accused Tel Aviv of a “lack of genuine intent” to end the ongoing war.
The ministry said that the attack is a “blatant disregard for international and humanitarian law.”
“The persistent large-scale attacks and the high civilian casualties increase whenever efforts to negotiate a cease-fire intensify,” it added.
Egypt reaffirmed its commitment to continuing diplomatic efforts to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza and to work toward a cease-fire agreement.
Sufyan Qudah, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, also expressed his country’s condemnation of Israel’s continued “breaches of international law and humanitarian norms.”
“This targeted attack, which comes at a time when mediators are making efforts to resume negotiations for a hostage exchange deal that could lead to a permanent cease-fire, signals the Israeli government’s intent to obstruct and undermine these efforts,” he said.
The spokesman called for an end to Israel’s “ongoing violations of international law” and urged that “those responsible for the atrocities be held accountable.”
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ attack on the Al-Taba’een School.
In a statement, the ministry emphasized the “urgent need to halt the massacres in the Gaza Strip,” condemning “the international community’s inaction in holding Israel accountable for its crimes.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Israeli bombing of the school an “open aggression.”
“We once again reiterate our demand that the Israeli leadership and security forces be brought to justice for the genocide of Palestinians and war crimes committed in Palestine,” Sharif said.
Iraq also condemned the Israeli attack. “These ongoing assaults on civilians constitute a blatant violation of international norms and conventions,” an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement said.
“They also demonstrate Israel’s disregard for global efforts aimed at achieving a cease-fire in Gaza,” it added.
The ministry urged the international community, particularly the Islamic world, to “take a firm stance to halt the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.”
Qatar also strongly condemned “the Israeli occupation’s bombing of a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza city,” describing it as a “horrific massacre and brutal crime against defenseless civilians and a flagrant infringement of the fundamental precepts of international humanitarian law and UN Security Council resolution 2601.”
The Gulf nation’s Foreign Ministry reiterated Doha’s call for “conducting an urgent international investigation by dispatching independent UN investigators to probe the ongoing targeting by Israeli occupation forces of schools and shelters for displaced people.”
The ministry underscored Qatar’s firm position on “the justice of the Palestinian cause, the legitimate rights of the fraternal Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Separately, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also condemned Israel’s targeting of Al-Taba’een school in the strongest terms.
In a statement, the Emirati Foreign Ministry stressed the UAE’s “categorical rejection of the targeting of civilians and civilian facilities.”
It reaffirmed the need for “an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life.”
The UAE called on the international community to “intensify efforts to avoid further fueling the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace.”
With the bombing of Al-Taba’een school, the total number of schools targeted by the Israeli army in Gaza City over the past week has increased to six, according to an Anadolu tally.
Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,800 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
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