What is unfolding in Gaza is not a war in any conventional sense but a genocide carried out in full view of the world. According to the latest figures compiled by Al Jazeera, between October 7, 2023 and January 26, 2026, at least 71,660 Palestinians have been killed, with thousands still buried under the rubble. A further 171,419 Palestinians have been injured, many with life-altering wounds. In a territory as small and densely populated as Gaza, this means one in every 33 people has been killed and one in every 14 injured. Even after the so-called ceasefire, the killing has not stopped: 486 Palestinians have been killed and 1,341 injured since the ceasefire began. These are not abstract numbers. They represent whole families erased and a society systematically destroyed.
It was against this backdrop that Pakistan spoke at the UN Security Council during an open debate on the Palestinian question on Wednesday. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the UNSC that the realisation of Palestinian statehood through a credible, time-bound political process remains the central objective of international efforts. He identified the unresolved Palestinian question as the core source of instability in the Middle East, pointing to decades of Israeli occupation marked by dispossession, repression and the denial of Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination. Referring to Gaza, he said the past two years had seen an unprecedented escalation, resulting in mass civilian casualties, near-total destruction of infrastructure and severe humanitarian deprivation. The Pakistani representative also condemned Israeli actions against UN facilities, including the demolition of a UN compound in Sheikh Jarrah, and stressed that UNRWA’s operations must be protected. Pakistan’s position was reinforced the following day, when Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi addressed the weekly briefing in Islamabad on Thursday to categorically reject any suggestion that Pakistan’s recent diplomatic engagement signalled a shift towards normalisation with Israel. He stated unequivocally that Pakistan would not become a party to the Abraham Accords and that joining the Gaza Board of Peace had no connection whatsoever with those US-brokered agreements. The Foreign Office has said that Pakistan’s objectives are limited and principled: to help consolidate and sustain the ceasefire, support post-conflict reconstruction in Gaza and advance a just and lasting peace based on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Pakistan does not recognise Israel and will not do so without a just resolution of the Palestinian question.
This clarity matters at a time when Palestinian death is treated as background noise and Israeli violence is endlessly justified as ‘self-defence’. Reconstruction without accountability will only prepare the ground for the next round of mass killing. An end to illegal settlement activity, annexation, forced displacement and demographic engineering is non-negotiable. Gaza does not need symbolic diplomacy or selective compassion. It needs justice, accountability and freedom.
