Here’s the global reaction to Friday’s deadly airstrikes in Gaza:
United Nations
The UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, warned that the “dangerous” escalation risked creating a need for more aid at a time when global resources were being stretched by other conflicts. “In the last few hours, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes. I am deeply saddened by reports that a five-year-old child was killed in these strikes. There can be no justification for attacks on civilians,” said Wennesland. “The missile firing must stop immediately and I call on all sides to avoid further escalation.”
United States
John Kirby, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, defended Israel’s attack on Gaza and urged both sides to de-escalate the situation. “We are actively engaged with Israeli-Palestinian regional partners to work towards greater calm in the wake of these strikes. And we certainly urge all sides to avoid further escalation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to Israel’s security and will continue to work to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership.” “We absolutely fully support Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorist groups that are killing innocent civilians in Israel. On the two-state solution, we remain committed to the two-state solution. This was one of the president’s key messages on this trip, both in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We still want to see that result, but both sides have to want it.” Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes on a building in Gaza City on Friday [Hatem Moussa/AP]
Turkey
Ankara “strongly” condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and said it was “unacceptable that civilians, including children, are losing their lives in attacks”. The foreign ministry in a statement urged “restraint and common sense” after the deadly attacks in the blockaded enclave. “We are deeply concerned about the rising tension in the region following the attacks. We emphasize the need to end these events before they turn into a new spiral of conflict,” he said.
Egypt
Cairo is working to defuse the latest escalation in Gaza. “We hope to reach a consensus to return to calm as soon as possible,” an unnamed security source told AFP news agency. Separately, another source said an Islamic Jihad delegation may travel to Cairo later on Saturday. Doha-based Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh held talks with “Egyptian intelligence” about the violence, a statement from the group said. Egypt, a historic mediator between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, negotiated the ceasefire that ended the conflict in May last year.
Catarrh
Qatar – a major financial backer that has spent billions of dollars to rebuild Gaza and support its people after Israeli attacks – expressed its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Friday’s attacks. He stressed “the need for the international community to act urgently to stop the [Israeli] repeated attacks by the occupation against civilians, especially women and children”. In a statement on Friday, the foreign ministry reiterated: “The steadfast position of the State of Qatar for the justice of the Palestinian struggle, the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people and the establishment of its independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital her”.
Jordan
Amman demanded that Israel “immediately stop its aggression” in the Gaza Strip. Spokesman Haitham Abu al-Ful warned of “dangerous” consequences that “will only increase tension and violence and deepen the environment of despair.” “The solution to the problem of the Gaza Strip and preventing the escalation of violence lies in finding a real political horizon by returning to the negotiating table to achieve a just peace on the basis of the two-state solution,” he said.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid in a televised statement pledged to do “whatever it takes to defend our people.” “Israel conducted an expensive counter-terrorist operation against an immediate threat. Our fight is not with the people of Gaza. “Islamic Jihad is an Iranian proxy, which wants to destroy the state of Israel and kill innocent Israelis. The head of Islamic Jihad is in Tehran as we speak. We will do whatever it takes to defend our people. Israel is not interested in a wider conflict in Gaza, but it will not avoid it either.” Prime Minister Yair Lapid, tonight: “Israel conducted an expensive counter-terrorist operation against an immediate threat. Our fight is not with the people of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/zx4wVOmxWe — Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 5, 2022
Islamic Jihad
In a statement, Islamic Jihad said: “The enemy has launched a war against our people, and we all have a duty to defend ourselves and our people and not allow the enemy to get away with its actions, which they aim to undermine resistance and national stability.”
Hamas
Ghazi Hamad, a senior official in Hamas – the group that rules the Strip – said the latest attack was “a brutal crime, a massacre carried out by the Israeli occupation against our people”. Palestinian factions are exploring the “best option for the Palestinian people.”
Palestinian Authority
The Palestinian Authority, which governs the occupied West Bank, condemned “the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip and demanded its immediate cessation.” “The presidency called on the international community to force Israel to stop this attack on our people everywhere, especially in Gaza, and to provide it with international protection,” it said in a statement.
