Pakistan calls for renewed cease-fire, accuses Israel of 'war crimes'

Palestinians evacuate wounded in Israeli bombardment Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)

Pakistan condemned the resumption of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Friday, accusing the Jewish state of "war crimes" and demanding a renewed cease-fire to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch made the comments during a weekly news conference on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

She said the temporary pause in fighting that ended Friday had given the people of Gaza a needed respite. 

“Pakistan reiterates its call for a durable and sustained cease-fire to enable supply of extensive and robust humanitarian assistance; urgent medical aid to the injured; and shelter to those who have been displaced as a result of the indiscriminate and inhumane bombing campaign by Israeli occupation forces,” she said.

Baloch said Pakistan supports a comprehensive investigation into "attacks against medical facilities, schools, mosques, churches, residential buildings and water facilities and urges full accountability for the war crimes being perpetrated in occupied Palestine.”