Condemnations of Mawasi massacre, calls for urgent ceasefire pour in

Condemnations of the new Israeli massacre that targeted displaced Palestinians in the     Al-Mawasi area in Gaza’s southern province of Khan Younis continued to pour in.

Gaza’s Civil Defense agency said an Israeli strike Tuesday on the supposedly “humanitarian zone’ in the Palestinian enclave killed 40 people.

Palestinian Foreign Ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign has strongly criticized the international community for its failure to enforce international law in stopping “Israel’s” ongoing war on Gaza, including attacks on areas such as al-Mawasi.

In a statement, the Ministry asserted that this inaction has allowed Israel to “persist in committing further massacres” in al-Mawasi and other parts of the besieged Strip.

“An immediate ceasefire is the only way to protect Palestinian civilians and create a suitable environment for achieving a prisoner exchange deal,” it stressed.

Iran

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani strongly condemned the massacre and “Israel’s” blatant disregard for international legal standards and moral principles.

Kanaani also denounced the use of bunker-busting munitions, which left vast craters and caused several individuals to go missing.

“With its insane attacks on Palestinian civilians and refugee camps, the terrorist Israeli regime once again showed that it does adhere neither to any legal and international standard nor any moral and humane principle,” he indicated.

Kanaani further pointed to “Israel’s” escalating aggression in Gaza and its violations of the security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of other countries in the West Asia region, describing these acts as clear threats to global peace and security, and as evidence of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.

The Iranian diplomat also urged international institutions, particularly the UN Security Council, to take immediate and decisive action to hold “Israel” accountable and prevent further crimes.

Cuba

Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Havana condemns “the massacre perpetrated by Israel in a refugee camp west of Khan Yunis, where over 40 Palestinians, primarily women and children, were killed.”

“These acts demonstrate Israel’s blatant disregard for International Humanitarian Law and the ongoing genocide being committed against the people of Palestine,” the top Cuban diplomat said.

Turkiye

Ankara has reiterated it will continue to “stand” with the Palestinian people and their “march for justice and freedom.”

“The genocidal Netanyahu Government has added a new one to its war crimes. Those who commit these crimes will definitely be held accountable before international law,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry underscored in a statement.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned “Israel’s” ongoing massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip, highlighting the absence of any meaningful international action to alleviate this human suffering, which it said has become a violation of international humanitarian law.

Cairo warned that the continuation of these crimes threatens regional and international peace and security. It called on the international community to abandon its policy of double standards and fulfill its moral responsibilities by taking immediate steps to halt this ongoing tragedy.

The Ministry also stressed that a sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue lies not only in a ceasefire but in achieving a just and lasting settlement through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with the eastern of occupied al-Quds as its capital.

Jordan

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign issued a strong condemnation of “Israel’s” continued aggression on Gaza, decrying the targeting of civilians and shelters for displaced persons. 

Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah expressed Jordan’s firm rejection of “Israel’s” violations of international law, accusing it of committing war crimes and acts of genocide against the Palestinian people. He also lamented the lack of a robust international response to the Israeli atrocities, calling for immediate action to halt the devastation and further humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Qudah underscored the urgent need for the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to act decisively to protect the Palestinian population and hold “Israel” accountable for its actions.

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh underlined that “the international community must activate accountability mechanisms and put an end to Israeli violations.”

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of “Israel’s” continued genocidal actions in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.

UK

On his part, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed deep concern over the recent Israeli strike on Gaza’s al-Mawasi humanitarian zone during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London.

“We’re meeting at a critical moment – a critical moment for securing a ceasefire in Gaza, with the shocking deaths in Khan Younis this morning only reinforcing how desperately needed that ceasefire is,” Lammy said.

Norway

His Norweigan counterpart Espen Barth Eide asserted that all parties involved in the war are obligated to protect civilians under international humanitarian law.

“The presence of armed groups does not nullify the obligation to comply with international humanitarian law,” Norway’s top diplomat said, adding that “the war must end.”

UN 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the deadly Israeli airstrike in a designated safe zone in southern Gaza before dawn on Tuesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“The use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas is unconscionable,” Dujarric said. “Palestinians had moved to this area in Khan Younis in search for shelter, in search of safety, after being repeatedly instructed to do so by the Israeli authorities themselves.”

Similarly, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, said he strongly condemns the “deadly” Israeli airstrikes on the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in Gaza, where displaced individuals were taking shelter.

In a statement, Wennesland stressed that international humanitarian law “must be upheld at all times.”

Meanwhile, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that neither vaccine nor medicine can help Palestinian people in the war-torn Gaza Strip if they are being killed.

“People in Gaza are asked repeatedly to move and bombarded repeatedly in areas that are supposed to be safe,” he added.

“No vaccine nor medicine can help if people are being killed and forced to live in such dire conditions,” Ghebreyesus said on his X platform account.

Stressing the need for an immediate ceasefire, he said, “Today’s deadly airstrikes in Khan Younis demonstrate once again the urgent need for a ceasefire.”

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

In the same vein, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) pointed out that “Israel’s” repeated attacks on densely populated areas of Gaza show that the occupation military’s “unlawful relocation directives have failed to protect or offer any guarantees of safety for Palestinians.”

According to the NRC, the al-Mawasi area is home to over 30,000 people per square kilometer due to multiple Israeli evacuation orders.

“For 11 months, Israel has been forcing Palestinians in Gaza to flee from place to place without offering them genuine assurances of safety, proper accommodation or return once hostilities end,” Jan Egeland, the humanitarian organization’s Secretary-General, indicated in a statement.

Egeland added that “images of metres-deep craters burying dozens of tents where children and their families slept moments earlier are horrifying,” stressing that last night’s events “provide further evidence that there is no safe place in Gaza and that only a ceasefire will prevent further loss of life.”

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

Moreover, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a UK-based non-governmental organization, referred to the humanitarian zone as a “so-called humanitarian zone” and mentioned that their teams on the ground were “exhausted and traumatized.”

“We urge the international community to fulfill its duty to protect Palestinians from further atrocities by immediately suspending all arms transfers to Israel,” stressed MAP Gaza Director, Fikr Shalltoot.