Daily Times

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (OCHA) latest report on Gaza was evidence of a “genocide” of the Palestinians by Israel, demanding the world take action against the Jewish state.

Israeli evacuation orders have affected 146 displacement sites in just two days, with the number of affectees reaching as high as 250,000 in August. The amount of humanitarian food assistance that entered southern Gaza in July was one of the lowest since October 2023, according to an OCHA humanitarian situation update issued on Friday. In July, the number of children diagnosed with acute malnutrition in northern Gaza was four times higher than in May, whereas in the south it more than doubled. Only 1 percent of children in northern Gaza and 6 percent in the south were able to receive the recommended dietary diversity.

In a statement issued by his office, Sharif said the latest UN report was “horrifying” and fresh evidence of the Israeli crime of the “genocide” of the oppressed Palestinian people.

“The United Nations report is telling that the Palestinian children are the biggest target of Israel,” the prime minister said. “It is clearly seen that Israel is involved in mass slaughter of the Palestinians.”

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October last year, the South Asian country has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations and demanded international powers and multilateral bodies stop Israeli military actions. Pakistan has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians. “The reports of international organizations are a serious indictment against Israel. The murderers of humanity should be punished and the oppressed [Palestinians] must be protected,” Sharif said, promising to speed up delivery of food to the Palestinians, especially children.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, in response to an attack by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Militants also took around 200 Israelis hostage.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry. Separately, Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the relevant authorities to conduct third party validation of all the development projects worth of over Rs 2 billion. Chairing a review meeting regarding Electronic Procurement, e-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System/e-PADS at the PM House, the prime minister directed the relevant authorities to ensure third party validation to make the grievances and concerns redressal system effective in relation to the procurement process.

The grievance redressal system with respect to procurement process should not be under the procuring agency, he said. He also directed measures for amendments in the rules and regulations in this regard. He said the government was taking measures to introduce transparent procedures for all types of government purchases.