Pakistan, partner states condemn Israeli strike on Khan Younis medical complex

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning an Israeli air strike on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and saying the killing of patients and medical staff there violated international humanitarian law.

Independent Urdu reported that the statement came from the foreign ministers of 18 countries including Pakistan. Aaj News put the number at 17 Muslim countries. The list of signatories carried by Independent Urdu names 17: Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Palestine, Algeria, Mauritania, Sudan, Libya, Djibouti, Somalia, Lebanon and Oman. Neither report gave a casualty toll for the strike.

The ministers said international humanitarian law gives special protection to medical centres and to health workers, and condemned Israeli strikes on the tents and shelters of displaced Palestinians. Such attacks, they said, damage efforts to restore a ceasefire and to rebuild peace and stability in Gaza, and do not fit with President Donald Trump's comprehensive plan.

The statement expressed deep concern at Israeli restrictions on the supply of humanitarian aid, tents, temporary housing and medical equipment. With winter approaching, the ministers said, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is likely to worsen, and shortages of shelter along with deteriorating water, sanitation and health services are putting the lives of civilians, particularly children and infants, at serious risk.

The ministers demanded that Israel act on appeals from the international community and the Board of Peace, increase aid deliveries and fulfil its obligations immediately and in full under the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, Trump's plan and UN Security Council resolution 2803 (2025). They said Israel should keep the ceasefire, protect civilians and medical centres and ensure safe, continuous and unimpeded humanitarian access, including material needed to restore shelters and basic infrastructure.

They urged Israel to allow UN agencies and humanitarian organisations to work without obstruction, and said obligations under the first phase of the agreement were meant to take effect immediately after signing, so Israel should meet them without further delay or political and security conditions. Aid delivery, they said, should not be tied to progress on later stages of the plan.

The ministers also called on the United States and the Board of Peace to intensify efforts to secure full Israeli compliance with the commitments and to remove all restrictions on aid. They restated their commitment to work with regional and international partners to firm up the ceasefire, implement every phase of the plan and expand humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.