Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that a United Nations inquiry “rightly concluded that Israeli acts” in Gaza amount to war crimes, urging the UN Security Council to ensure an immediate ceasefire there.

Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Summit in Astana, he highlighted the meeting was “being held amidst unprecedented suffering of the people of Palestine as a result of Israel’s ongoing brutal military campaign in Gaza”.

“More than 37,000 people have been martyred, including thousands of children, and millions have been displaced.”

The premier added: “The UN Human Rights Council’s commissioner of inquiry has rightly concluded that Israeli acts amount to war crimes and according to the International Court of Justice, a plausible genocide for which Israel must be held to account.

“We must call upon the international community, in particular the UNSC, to uphold its responsibility to ensure immediate ceasefire, free flow of humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians in the entire Gaza strip,” Shehbaz asserted.