‘Shocking and brutal massacre’: World reacts to Israel’s attack on al-Mawasi | Gaza News

The conviction was made after an Israeli air strike According to Gaza authorities, dozens of people were killed in the al-Mawasi area of ​​the Gaza Strip, which Israel declared a “security zone.”

According to Palestinian authorities, at least 90 people were killed and 300 others were injured in Saturday’s attack. According to Israeli officials, the attack targeted Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif and other high-ranking figures in the armed group.

Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters it was “not absolutely certain” that Deif had been killed. Hamas dismissed the attack claim as “false” and said the attack killed “defenseless civilians.”

Photos and videos confirmed by Al Jazeera’s Sanad news agency showed Palestinians searching through rubble and what appeared to be the remains of tents at the site of the attacks. Around them were densely packed makeshift shelters belonging to Palestinians who had fled their homes because of the war.

This is how leading politicians and human rights observers reacted:

Jordan

The kingdom’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on “tents of displaced people in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, in an area previously classified by Israel as safe, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of Palestinians.”

Spokesman Sufyan al-Qudah said Jordan had called on the international community to act to end the suffering of Palestinians in the face of Israel’s repeated violations of international law.

Egypt

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israel’s “ongoing violations of the rights of Palestinian citizens” would seriously “complicate” the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement.

Egypt is one of the countries trying to mediate such an agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“We strongly condemn the Israeli attacks on the al-Mawasi area,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Qatar

Doha is also acting as a mediator in the ceasefire negotiations. On Saturday, it described the “shocking and brutal massacre” in al-Mawasi as “a new chapter in the ongoing series of crimes” committed by Israel against Palestinians.

She warned that the attack would further undermine efforts to achieve lasting peace and “thereby widen the cycle of violence in the region and threaten international peace and security.”

Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry described the attack as “a phase of the Netanyahu government’s efforts to completely destroy the Palestinians.”

“The fact that Israel has once again chosen bloodshed, despite expecting it to be a response to Hamas’ positive response to the ceasefire (proposal), is proof that the Netanyahu government is trying to prevent negotiations on a permanent ceasefire,” the ministry said.

It called on countries that support Israel to put an end to this “barbarism”.

Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the attack on al-Mawasi as “the latest crime in a series of crimes committed by the child-murdering Zionist regime.”

“The Zionists have once again brutally demonstrated that, in order to compensate for the defeats suffered by the resistance on the battlefield, they do not recognize any human and moral red line towards the defenseless residents of the Gaza Strip, but they must know that persisting on this path means nothing other than a broader global hatred,” Kanaani said in a post on X.

Palestinian Authority

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, called the attack on al-Mawasi “a continuation of the genocidal war against our people, and the US government bears responsibility for the continuation of the massacres.”

In a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency, Abu Rudeineh added: “Without the blind and biased support of the Americans, these occupying forces would not have been able to continue their bloody crimes against our people, ignoring international law and the decisions of international courts that have called for an end to the attacks and the protection of our people.”

Colombia

President Gustavo Petro denounced what he called the “greatest injustice.”

“I am all the more outraged because this destruction of international human rights is only a prelude to the barbarism they want to bring upon all oppressed peoples of the earth,” he said in a post on X.

Saudi Arabia

The kingdom’s foreign ministry called for the “activation of international accountability mechanisms” against Israeli human rights violations.

“The State Department strongly condemns the continued genocidal massacres of the Palestinian people by the Israeli war machine. The most recent massacre was the attack on the displaced persons camps in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.

US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

While the administration of US President Joe Biden has yet to respond to Saturday’s attack, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said: “We must do more to stop this.

“Israel continues its horrific attack on Gaza, forcing the closure of medical facilities and even restricting the import of medical equipment,” Jayapal said in a social media post.

She called for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire to release the hostages and save lives.”

UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Francesca Albanese said Israel had likely violated international law by attacking a designated humanitarian zone.

“I am disgusted by Israel’s tolerance of impunity that enables genocide,” Albanese said.

In March, Albanese published a report listing “sufficient grounds” to believe that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.