Palestinian Ambassador to the Philippines Saleh Mohammad (Zoom screenshot)
MANILA – Calling for the war to end should be the priority of the international community, the State of Palestine’s envoy to the Philippines said Friday, citing the growing unrest in the Middle East as the civilian death toll in the Israel-Hamas conflict mounts.
In a virtual press conference, Palestinian Ambassador to the Philippines Saleh Mohammad said the world should concentrate on ways to “end the cycle of violence” in the area.
“We should be looking for how to end this cycle of violence, how to end this cycle of war – it’s better to concentrate on that,” he said.
“This situation is complicated. The whole area in south Lebanon is boiling, the Rafah border (near Egypt) is also boiling, the Jordanian front. Nobody is talking about it, but it’s very tense. The public opinion there is very hot, very angry about the ongoing onslaught of Palestinian civilians.”
In northern Israel, the Israeli army and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah had been exchanging fire in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian protests are also sweeping across Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Data from the United Nations showed that at least 1,300 people from Israel and 3,700 in Gaza died since the Palestinian militant Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 and Israeli forces responded with heavy strikes on the strip targeting the group. (PNA)
