ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the deadly Israeli air strikes on Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, which claimed the lives of at least 21 individuals, including five journalists and a rescue worker.

“This unconscionable and heinous attack on a medical facility, as well as the continued targeting of civilians and journalists, represents a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as freedom of the press,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.

“We reiterate our call on the international community to hold Israel accountable for such heinous crimes and to take concrete steps towards ending Israel’s impunity,” the spokesperson said.

Israel struck Nasser Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 20 people, including five journalists who worked for Reuters, Associated Press, Al Jazeera and others.

Terms Nasser Hospital attack ‘unconscionable’, grave violation of human rights

Global media and humanitarian organisations condemned the attack. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 189 Palestinian journalists have been killed during the 22-month conflict.

Meanwhile, the United Nations insisted on Tuesday that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza but also ensure those probes yield results.

“There needs to be justice,” United Nations rights office (OHCHR) spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war “raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists”.

Pakistan also condemned in the strongest possible terms the Israeli occupying forces’ incursion into the Syrian Arab Republic in contravention of international law and principles of the UN Charter.

Pakistan expressed its full support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria, and called on the international community to prevent Israel from undermining the peace and stability of the entire region.

On Wednesday, Syria also condemned an Israeli drone strike that killed six soldiers the previous day, calling it a “clear violation” of the country’s sovereignty.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since an alliance of opposition forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus.

In a statement, Syria’s foreign ministry called the strike “a gross violation of international law and the United Nations Charter”.

It added that the attack represented “a clear breach of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic”.

State television reported six army personnel “were killed in strikes by Israeli occupation drones” near Kisweh, outside Damascus in the Tuesday attack.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2025