Pakistan slams Israel's naked 'adventurism'

Tel Aviv announces assassination of another senior Hezbollah leader

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Sunday strongly condemned the growing Israeli adventurism in the Middle East and warned that the Jewish state's unbridled attacks on civilian populations and disregard for the international law reached alarming levels.

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch specifically condemned the recent killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on Saturday, labelling it a significant escalation in the already volatile region.

"For the last several days, Israeli forces have engaged in unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, relentlessly targeting civilian population centres, and undermining its stability and security," the spokesperson said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of Israeli aggression and the people of Lebanon," she added. "Yesterday's reckless act of killing the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon constitutes a major escalation in an already volatile region."

Hezbollah on Saturday confirmed that its chief Hassan Nasrallah has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs. Hezbollah said in a statement that he was killed with other group members "following the treacherous Zionist strike.

The Israeli military had said "most of the senior leaders of Hezbollah have been eliminated", as it had hit more than 140 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon since Friday night. It said on Sunday that another senior Hezbollah official, Nabil Qaouq, was killed in another an air strike after the assassination of Nasrallah.

Israeli strikes and heavy bombing over the past week had killed more than 700 people, including Hezbollah's senior command structure, with Nasrallah's right-hand man Fuad Shukr, head of the elite Radwan Force Ibrahim Aqil and others among the dead.