Pakistan questions Gaza ceasefire as killings of Palestinians continue
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has questioned how the Gaza ceasefire can be considered to be holding when Israeli strikes and civilian deaths continue, telling the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that more than 1,200 Palestinians had been killed since the truce was announced. “If the ceasefire is holding — as we have been told — then how are strikes continuing and civilians being killed?” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, asked during a UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East. His remarks came amid growing concern at the UNSC that, despite the ceasefire and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, conditions in Gaza remained dire and violence continued in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. UN Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov reported that Israeli airstrikes had resumed on Aug. 12 after a one-week lull. During the reporting period, he said, 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 injured. The humanitarian situation was also highlighted by Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies, who said that improvements in aid delivery had not changed the broader reality facing Palestinians. “2 million Palestinians remain trapped and suffering severely,” she said. Against this backdrop, Pakistan also warned that Israel’s advancement of the E1 settlement project could further destroy prospects for a political settlement by effectively severing the occupied West Bank and threatening the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Ahmad described the project as a “dangerous escalation”, warning that it could put thousands of Palestinians at risk of forcible displacement. He noted that all members of the UNSC had rejected annexation and urged the UNSC to ensure that measures moving in that direction were stopped. Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad H. Mansour went further, saying annexation had long been underway but that Israel had now “crossed the Rubicon” with the release of tenders for the E1 plan. “The Israeli government stated clearly that its goal in issuing these tenders was the destruction of the Palestinian State and the triumph of the settlers’ State,” Mansour said. He accused Israel of pursuing territorial expansion despite the consequences for regional peace. “They do not care that annexation kills any prospect for peace in our region,” he said, arguing that the destruction of the possibility of peace was itself part of Israel’s objective. The E1 project was one of several issues raised at the meeting as members and UN officials warned that developments on the ground were threatening diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Several delegates condemned Israeli plans for 1,200 settlement units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, saying the project could split the occupied West Bank and further undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state. France, meanwhile, strongly condemned Israeli statements and policies concerning Gaza while stressing that the territory’s reconstruction and restoration of Palestinian institutions should not be made contingent on the completion of the disarmament process. French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont specifically denounced remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for Palestinians in Gaza to be killed each night. “We firmly condemn the public statements by the Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir, calling a few days ago for 30 or 40 people in Gaza to be killed each night,” Bonnafont said. He argued that the priority should be to restore basic living conditions and Palestinian governance in Gaza. “The restoration of decent living conditions cannot be subordinated to the finalisation of the disarmament process,” he said. France also called for an Israeli military withdrawal, with Bonnafont stressing: “It is important for the Israeli army to withdraw.” “Gaza and the West Bank are two integral parts of Palestine,” he added. The US, however, defended UNSC Resolution 2803 and President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza plan, arguing that the arrangements offered an alternative to either continued Hamas rule or prolonged Israeli occupation. US Ambassador Michael G. Waltz acknowledged that Gaza continued to face serious humanitarian needs but pointed to improvements in aid access and nutrition as evidence of the impact of increased supplies reaching civilians. He also said Hamas had “twice committed to disarm”, arguing that reconstruction and an eventual Israeli withdrawal ultimately depended on the group relinquishing its military capabilities. The disagreement over sequencing — whether reconstruction and Israeli withdrawal should proceed alongside the disarmament process or depend on it — reflected a broader challenge facing the ceasefire arrangements. Speaking for the Arab Group, Qatari Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif al-Thani stressed that an end to the Israeli occupation remained essential for any lasting settlement. “Just, comprehensive and durable peace cannot be achieved without ending Israeli occupation,” she said, while calling for Palestinians’ right to self-determination to be upheld. She also condemned what she described as “ongoing gross Israeli violations” throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and accused Israel of rejecting both the comprehensive peace plan and the goal of a Palestinian state. “This is a direct rejection of the Comprehensive Plan, jeopardising its implementation and fundamentally undermining collective efforts to achieve just and durable peace,” she said, urging its full implementation. UN officials and mediators also called for implementation of the 15-point Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. The plan envisages Hamas’s disarmament, an Israeli military withdrawal, an international stabilisation force and transitional Palestinian governance. Alakbarov and Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, urged the parties to implement the arrangements fully as the humanitarian crisis continued and settler violence persisted in the West Bank. Pakistan also called for the immediate release of Palestinian clearance revenues withheld by Israel, saying the funds were undermining the Palestinian Authority’s ability to provide essential services. Ahmad further condemned continuing settler violence in the occupied West Bank, citing UN figures showing about 190 attacks a month in early 2026 and calling for urgent international action to protect Palestinians. Pakistan reiterated its support for an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds al Sharif as its capital.
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has questioned how the Gaza ceasefire can be considered to be holding when Israeli strikes and civilian deaths continue, telling the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that more than 1,200 Palestinians had been killed since the truce was announced.
“If the ceasefire is holding — as we have been told — then how are strikes continuing and civilians being killed?” Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, asked during a UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East.
His remarks came amid growing concern at the UNSC that, despite the ceasefire and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, conditions in Gaza remained dire and violence continued in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
UN Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov reported that Israeli airstrikes had resumed on Aug. 12 after a one-week lull. During the reporting period, he said, 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 injured.
The humanitarian situation was also highlighted by Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies, who said that improvements in aid delivery had not changed the broader reality facing Palestinians.
“2 million Palestinians remain trapped and suffering severely,” she said.
Against this backdrop, Pakistan also warned that Israel’s advancement of the E1 settlement project could further destroy prospects for a political settlement by effectively severing the occupied West Bank and threatening the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state.
Ahmad described the project as a “dangerous escalation”, warning that it could put thousands of Palestinians at risk of forcible displacement. He noted that all members of the UNSC had rejected annexation and urged the UNSC to ensure that measures moving in that direction were stopped.
Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad H. Mansour went further, saying annexation had long been underway but that Israel had now “crossed the Rubicon” with the release of tenders for the E1 plan.
“The Israeli government stated clearly that its goal in issuing these tenders was the destruction of the Palestinian State and the triumph of the settlers’ State,” Mansour said.
He accused Israel of pursuing territorial expansion despite the consequences for regional peace.
“They do not care that annexation kills any prospect for peace in our region,” he said, arguing that the destruction of the possibility of peace was itself part of Israel’s objective.
The E1 project was one of several issues raised at the meeting as members and UN officials warned that developments on the ground were threatening diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Several delegates condemned Israeli plans for 1,200 settlement units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, saying the project could split the occupied West Bank and further undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
France, meanwhile, strongly condemned Israeli statements and policies concerning Gaza while stressing that the territory’s reconstruction and restoration of Palestinian institutions should not be made contingent on the completion of the disarmament process.
French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont specifically denounced remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for Palestinians in Gaza to be killed each night.
“We firmly condemn the public statements by the Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir, calling a few days ago for 30 or 40 people in Gaza to be killed each night,” Bonnafont said.
He argued that the priority should be to restore basic living conditions and Palestinian governance in Gaza.
“The restoration of decent living conditions cannot be subordinated to the finalisation of the disarmament process,” he said.
France also called for an Israeli military withdrawal, with Bonnafont stressing: “It is important for the Israeli army to withdraw.”
“Gaza and the West Bank are two integral parts of Palestine,” he added.
The US, however, defended UNSC Resolution 2803 and President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza plan, arguing that the arrangements offered an alternative to either continued Hamas rule or prolonged Israeli occupation.
US Ambassador Michael G. Waltz acknowledged that Gaza continued to face serious humanitarian needs but pointed to improvements in aid access and nutrition as evidence of the impact of increased supplies reaching civilians.
He also said Hamas had “twice committed to disarm”, arguing that reconstruction and an eventual Israeli withdrawal ultimately depended on the group relinquishing its military capabilities.
The disagreement over sequencing — whether reconstruction and Israeli withdrawal should proceed alongside the disarmament process or depend on it — reflected a broader challenge facing the ceasefire arrangements.
Speaking for the Arab Group, Qatari Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif al-Thani stressed that an end to the Israeli occupation remained essential for any lasting settlement.
“Just, comprehensive and durable peace cannot be achieved without ending Israeli occupation,” she said, while calling for Palestinians’ right to self-determination to be upheld.
She also condemned what she described as “ongoing gross Israeli violations” throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and accused Israel of rejecting both the comprehensive peace plan and the goal of a Palestinian state.
“This is a direct rejection of the Comprehensive Plan, jeopardising its implementation and fundamentally undermining collective efforts to achieve just and durable peace,” she said, urging its full implementation.
UN officials and mediators also called for implementation of the 15-point Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. The plan envisages Hamas’s disarmament, an Israeli military withdrawal, an international stabilisation force and transitional Palestinian governance.
Alakbarov and Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, urged the parties to implement the arrangements fully as the humanitarian crisis continued and settler violence persisted in the West Bank.
Pakistan also called for the immediate release of Palestinian clearance revenues withheld by Israel, saying the funds were undermining the Palestinian Authority’s ability to provide essential services.
Ahmad further condemned continuing settler violence in the occupied West Bank, citing UN figures showing about 190 attacks a month in early 2026 and calling for urgent international action to protect Palestinians.
Pakistan reiterated its support for an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds al Sharif as its capital.