Defence minister urges Trump to broker peace deal for Palestine
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday praised US President Donald Trump for mediating a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, expressing hope that Trump would take similar steps to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“It is hoped that President Trump will play a similar historic role in achieving peace and a two-state solution for Palestine,” Asif wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"President Trump's role in brokering a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is commendable. There are indications that President Trump may facilitate peace between Russia and Ukraine. Earlier, a ceasefire between Pakistan and India was also made possible through…
“The innocent Palestinians targeted in Gaza also look forward to President Trump’s intervention for lasting peace,” he added.
“Humanity awaits an end to Zionist atrocities and Palestinian genocide. History will remember him forever.”
14 dead in Israeli strikes
At least 14 Palestinians, including nine people seeking aid, were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, according to local health authorities.
Two people were killed and transported to the Nasser Medical Complex from a Global Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site in southern Gaza. In Khan Younis, an Israeli air strike targeting an apartment killed one woman and wounded another person.
At least 11 more were killed in northern Gaza and taken to Al-Awda Hospital, including six who died while waiting for food near the Netzarim Corridor.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza by Israel has created a deepening starvation crisis, compounded by repeated attacks on food distribution points.
Read: Infant, 4-year-old child die of hunger in Gaza
Since late May, the UN estimates that at least 859 people have been killed in or around aid distribution sites operated by GHF, a US- and Israel-backed company contracted to run food delivery points in the enclave.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) described the GHF-run sites as “synonymous with stampedes, suffocating crowd surges, violent looting and lethal ‘crowd control’ measures.”
The group called for an immediate end to what it described as Israel’s “militarised food distribution scheme,” referring to it as “institutionalised starvation and dehumanisation.”
Condemnations against Israel's plan to seize Gaza city
The foreign ministers of Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have strongly condemned Israel’s plan to launch a large-scale military operation in Gaza City, warning it risks violating international humanitarian law.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also strongly condemned the Israeli cabinet's recent approval of a plan to assume control of Gaza City, calling it illegal and illegitimate and warning that the move represents a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
"We strongly condemn the Israeli cabinet's approval of a plan to take illegal and illegitimate control of Gaza City. This tantamounts to a dangerous escalation in an already catastrophic war against the people of Palestine," the PM said.
The announcement by Israel’s security cabinet on Friday approving the takeover of Gaza City has sparked panic among Palestinians sheltering there. Nearly one million people, many of them displaced multiple times, are currently in the city.
The plan reportedly involves the forcible removal of civilians into so-called concentration zones in the southern Gaza Strip.
“I swear to God that I have faced death like 100 times, so for me, it’s better to die here,” said Ahmed Hirz, a displaced resident of Gaza City. “I will never leave here,” he told Al Jazeera. “We have gone through suffering and starvation and torture and miserable conditions, and our final decision is to die here.”
Read more: US offering Israel tacit support on Gaza plan
US taxpayer dollars used to starve children
US Senator Bernie Sanders has renewed his criticism of American military aid to Israel amid growing concerns over starvation in Gaza.
In a post on X, Sanders said “18,500 children have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza,” adding that “despite these war crimes, the US has provided more than $22 billion for the war.”
18,500 children have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
Despite these war crimes, the US has provided more than $22 BILLION for the war.
Our taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools & gun down hungry people as they wait for aid. pic.twitter.com/bKh9Tvb0LG“Our taxpayer dollars are being used to starve children, bomb schools & gun down hungry people as they wait for aid,” he wrote.
Israel's war on Gaza
The Israeli army has launched a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing at least 58,667 Palestinians, including 17,400 children. More than 139,974 people have been injured, and over 14,222 are missing and presumed dead.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. The proposed deal includes a pause in hostilities, increased humanitarian aid, and negotiations on the release of captives.