Pakistan PM slams Israeli plan to seize Gaza City, warns of ‘dangerous escalation’

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday condemned the Israeli cabinet’s decision to approve the “illegal and illegitimate control of Gaza City,” calling it a “dangerous escalation,” just hours after the country’s foreign office slammed the “desecration” of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers and officials.

Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan to seize military control of Gaza City earlier in the day, describing it as the first phase of a broader push that could extend across the Palestinian enclave.

The plan has also triggered alarm among Israeli defense officials, who warned it could entangle their forces in a protracted conflict. The international response has been swift and overwhelmingly negative, with the United Nations, United Kingdom, European Union and others warning of devastating humanitarian consequences.