Pakistan questions Gaza ceasefire as killings of Palestinians continue

Pakistan questions Gaza ceasefire as killings of Palestinians continue.

Key points

• Anwar Iqbal Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 09: 15pm.
• French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont specifically denounced remarks by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling for Palestinians in Gaza to be killed each night.
• UN Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov documented that Israeli airstrikes had resumed on Aug.
• Speaking for the Arab Group, Qatari Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif al-Thani stressed that an end to the Israeli occupation remained essential for any lasting settlement.
• UN authorities and mediators additionally pressed implementation of the 15-point Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.

Anwar Iqbal Published August 27, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026 09: 15pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has questioned how the Gaza ceasefire can be considered to be holding when Israeli strikes and civilian deaths continue, telling the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that more than 1, 200 Palestinians had been killed since the truce was confirmed.

"If the ceasefire is holding – as we have been told – then how are strikes continuing and civilians being killed?" Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, asked during a UNSC session on the situation in the Middle East.

His remarks came against the backdrop of growing concern at the UNSC that, despite the ceasefire and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, conditions in Gaza remained dire and violence continued in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

UN Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov documented that Israeli airstrikes had resumed on Aug. 12 after a one-week lull. During the reporting period, he remarked, 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 injured.

In practice, the humanitarian situation was additionally highlighted by Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies. This person stated that improvements in aid delivery had not changed the broader reality facing Palestinians. "2 million Palestinians remain trapped and suffering severely, " she remarked.

Against this backdrop, Pakistan additionally cautioned that Israel's advancement of the E1 settlement project could further destroy prospects for a political settlement by effectively severing the occupied West Bank and threatening the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

Ahmad described the project as a "dangerous escalation", warning that it could put thousands of Palestinians at risk of forcible displacement. He observed that all members of the UNSC had rejected annexation and called on the UNSC to ensure that measures moving in that direction were halted.

Palestinian Permanent Observer Riyad H. Mansour went further, saying annexation had long been underway but that Israel had now "crossed the Rubicon" with the release of tenders for the E1 plan.

"The Israeli government stated clearly that its goal in issuing these tenders was the destruction of the Palestinian State and the triumph of the settlers' State, " Mansour remarked.

He accused Israel of pursuing territorial expansion despite the consequences for regional peace.

"They do not care that annexation kills any prospect for peace in our region, " he remarked, arguing that the destruction of the possibility of peace was itself part of Israel's objective.

Meanwhile, the E1 project was one of a number of matters raised at the session as members and UN office-holders cautioned that developments on the ground were threatening diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. A number of delegates condemned Israeli aims for 1, 200 settlement units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, saying the project could split the occupied West Bank and further undermine prospects for a viable Palestinian state.

France, meanwhile, strongly condemned Israeli statements and policies concerning Gaza while stressing that the territory's reconstruction and restoration of Palestinian institutions should not be created contingent on the completion of the disarmament process.

"We firmly condemn the public statements by the Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir, calling a few days ago for 30 or 40 people in Gaza to be killed each night, " Bonnafont remarked.

He argued that the priority should be to restore basic living conditions and Palestinian governance in Gaza.

"The restoration of decent living conditions cannot be subordinated to the finalisation of the disarmament process, " he remarked.

France additionally called on an Israeli military withdrawal, with Bonnafont stressing: "It is important for the Israeli army to withdraw."

"Gaza and the West Bank are two integral parts of Palestine, " he continued.

For context, the US, nevertheless, defended UNSC Resolution 2803 and President Donald Trump's comprehensive Gaza plan, arguing that the arrangements offered an alternative to either continued Hamas rule or prolonged Israeli occupation.

US Ambassador Michael G. Waltz acknowledged that Gaza continued to face serious humanitarian needs but pointed to improvements in aid access and nutrition as evidence of the impact of rose supplies reaching civilians.

He additionally stated Hamas had "twice committed to disarm", arguing that reconstruction and an eventual Israeli withdrawal ultimately depended on the group relinquishing its military capabilities.

Notably, the disagreement over sequencing – whether reconstruction and Israeli withdrawal should proceed alongside the disarmament process or depend on it – reflected a broader challenge facing the ceasefire arrangements.

While calling for Palestinians' right to self-determination to be upheld, "Just, comprehensive and durable peace cannot be achieved without ending Israeli occupation, " she remarked.

She additionally condemned what she described as "ongoing gross Israeli violations" throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and accused Israel of rejecting both the comprehensive peace plan and the goal of a Palestinian state.

"This is a direct rejection of the Comprehensive Plan, jeopardising its implementation and fundamentally undermining collective efforts to achieve just and durable peace, " she remarked, urging its full implementation.

UN authorities and mediators additionally pressed implementation of the 15-point Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict. The plan envisages Hamas's disarmament, an Israeli military withdrawal, an international stabilisation force and transitional Palestinian governance.

Alakbarov and Nickolay Mladenov, High Representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, pressed the parties to implement the arrangements fully as the humanitarian crisis continued and settler violence persisted in the West Bank.

Pakistan additionally called on the immediate release of Palestinian clearance revenues withheld by Israel, saying the funds were undermining the Palestinian Authority's ability to provide essential services.

Ahmad further condemned continuing settler violence in the occupied West Bank, citing UN figures showing regarding 190 attacks a month in early 2026 and calling for urgent international action to protect Palestinians.

Pakistan reiterated its backing for an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds al Sharif as its capital.

Anwar Iqbal is the Washington correspondent for Dawn. During a long journalism career, he has interviewed world leaders and cultural icons, including US Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Josh Malihabadi, Bacha Khan, Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi.

Taken together, the developments around pakistan questions Gaza ceasefire as killings of Palestinians continue point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.