Harare (New Ziana) –Zimbabwe has called for restraint from the protagonists in the ongoing fighting between Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, and Israel, which has left more than 1 000 people dead and many more injured and displaced.
Hamas launched its biggest surprise attack on Israel in decades on Saturday, which it claimed was aimed at ending Israel’s 16-year-blockage of Gaza and brutal treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, in the Middle East.
While the attack caught Israel totally unaware, it retaliated with huge strikes on cities in the blockaded Gaza Strip, destroying dozens of buildings, with Hamas continuing to fire rockets into Israel.
So far, more than 1 100 people have been killed in Israel and Gaza, with the death toll expected to rise.
Hamas fighters took hostage an estimated 150 Israelis, many of them civilians, prompting Israeli officials, who previously considered the group a terrorist organization but which could help govern Gaza, to now vow that it must be crushed.
In a statement, the Zimbabwe government expressed concern at the fighting and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, especially women and children.
It also raised the red flag at the disproportionate use of force, and called for a political solution that engenders peace.
“The Government of Zimbabwe urges all sides to exercise maximum restraint and allow humanitarian workers access to the injured and displaced,” said the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
“We convey our deepest condolences to all those who lost their loved ones and wish the injured speedy recovery. These tragic developments, once again highlight the urgent need for the revival of the political process aimed at finding a durable and just solution which respects the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people as envisaged under the United Nations Resolutions.”
On Sunday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israelis to brace themselves for a long and difficult war.
New Ziana
