Arab States Condemn Israel’s Breaking Dawn Operation in Gaza

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Ahmed Aboul Gheit has strongly condemned Israel’s operation Breaking Dawn launched against Islamic Jihad.

"The Secretary-General is appealing to the international community and all parties with international influence to intervene to achieve a cease-fire, warning that the continuation of military operations may lead to an escalation that no party can account for its serious consequences," Aboul Gheit’s spokesman Jamal Rushdie said in a Saturday statement.

According to the LAS Secretary-General, the situation is aggravated by the weakness of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.

The foreign ministries of Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and Tunisia have also called on the international community to intervene to stop Israel's operation.

The Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Saturday that at least 24 people had been killed and 203 others suffered injuries as a result of the airstrikes targeting the Gaza Strip under Israel's operation Breaking Dawn.

According to Israeli media reports, an explosion occurred at the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least four children. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the incident was the result of an Islamic Jihad rocket misfire.

Khaled al-Batsh, head of Islamic Jihad’s politburo told journalists on Saturday that Islamic Jihad has no other choice than to defend itself and the Palestinian people from Israel, which bears responsibility for the current escalation. Al-Batsh said that the international community, Qatar and Egypt, are taking mediation efforts to stop Israeli strikes against Gaza.

The IDF launched an operation dubbed Breaking Dawn against Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The IDF press office told Sputnik that the Israeli forces are preparing for the Breaking Dawn operation in the Gaza Strip to continue for one week.