With Israel's indiscriminate shelling of the Hamas-ruled strip continuing to murder dozens and force millions of people to flee their homes, Pakistan sent the first shipment of humanitarian supplies to Gaza on Thursday.
In a statement, the Foreign Office stated that a chartered aircraft will transport humanitarian supplies to Palestine, including three tonnes of medications, four thousand blankets, and one thousand winter tents.
Thousands more have been injured, and about 3,500 people have lost their lives as a result of Israel's unstopped bombing of Gaza. Almost a million people have been forced to flee as entire city blocks have been flattened and their access to food, water, and electricity has been cut off.
More than 1,400 people have died as a result of Hamas's October 7 onslaught on Israel, and the conflict has incited anger towards Israel and its Western supporters throughout the Middle East.
At the media briefing today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan remains deeply concerned about the situation of "our Palestinian brothers and sisters" in Gaza.
"We vehemently denounce the Israeli aggression and siege, especially the most recent assault on a hospital in Gaza. International humanitarian law and human rights legislation are broken by Israel's actions,” she said.
The FO also said that intentional strikes on civilian targets are crimes against humanity and war crimes.
"We demand an immediate end to hostilities, the lifting of Gaza's siege, and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow unimpeded access to relief supplies."
The breakthrough occurred as Israel reached an agreement for the first 20 trucks to transport humanitarian supplies across the closed Rafah border into Gaza from Egypt; the first shipments are anticipated to arrive on Friday at the earliest.
The only port of entry and departure into Gaza that is not under Israeli control is the Rafah border crossing, where more than 100 trucks loaded with relief supplies have been standing in wait for days.
Cairo has maintained its closure thus far, citing many Israeli attacks in the vicinity of the crossing and expressing concerns that Israel could be attempting to expel Palestinians from Egypt and into the Sinai desert permanently.
Numerous people were once again waiting on the Gaza side, eager to escape but wary of Israeli attacks, keeping a safe distance of around 300 feet (100 yards).
If Israel proceeds with its planned ground attack, which is intended to destroy Hamas and free Israeli and foreign hostages—the number of whom Israel revised up to 203 on Thursday—there are worries that things may get worse.