Amid uncertainty over the future of the Iran-US war and ahead of likely negotiations in Islamabad this week, Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif sparked anger from Israel after referring to nation as “evil” and a “cancerous state”. Israel hit back at the Pakistani minister on Friday, casting doubts on the country's neutrality as a peace arbiter. Track live updates on Iran US ceasefire news
Khawaja Asif's remarks, on X, against Israel came at a time when Pakistan is playing the peacemaker in the US-Iran war, with likely talks between delegations of Tehran and Washington scheduled in Islamabad on Saturday. Asif appears to have now deleted the controversial post after facing backlash for the comments from Israel.
Asif had also accused Israel of carrying out a ‘genocide' in Lebanon, saying Israel first killed innocents in Gaza and is now doing the same in Lebanon. "Israel is evil and a curse for humanity, while peace talks are underway in Islamabad, genocide is being committed in Lebanon. Innocent citizens are being killed by Israel, first Gaza, then Iran and now Lebanon, bloodletting continues unabated," he said.
"I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews burn in hell," he added.
Israel slammed Pakistan defence minister
{{/usCountry}}"I hope and pray people who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European jews burn in hell," he added.
Israel slammed Pakistan defence minister
{{/usCountry}}Israel responded to the comments, saying that such remarks coming from Pakistan’s defence minister do not reflect neutrality as a peace arbiter.
"Pakistan Defence Minister’s call for Israel’s annihilation is outrageous. This is not a statement that can be tolerated from any government, especially not from one that claims to be a neutral arbiter for peace," read a tweet from the Prime Minister of Israel' X account.
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"Israel views very gravely these blatant antisemitic blood libels from a government claiming to ‘mediate peace’. Calling the Jewish state ‘cancerous’ is effectively calling for its annihilation. Israel will defend itself against terrorists who vow its destruction," said Gideon Sa'ar, Israel’s foreign minister.
Islamabad is hosting peace talks between the US and Iran on Friday, April 10, after the Islamic Republic agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8.
Meanwhile, Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu again asserted that there is ‘no ceasefire in Lebanon’ and vowed to continue military operations with ‘full force’ against Hezbollah.
"I wish to inform you: There is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we restore your security," he said.
However, a few hours later, Israel issued another statement saying that talks were underway with Lebanon. This came after an Israeli attack reportedly killed over 200 people in Lebanon and injured 1,150 others, according to an AP report.
Netanyahu said that talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and ‘establishing peaceful relations’ between the countries. Israel’s military said it targeted Hezbollah sites, but several strikes hit densely populated commercial and residential areas during rush hour, leading to widespread civilian casualties.
Lebanon PM Nawaf Salam took to X on April, two days ago, calling on allies to help stop Israel’s aggression while condemning Jerusalem for targeting residential buildings.
"While we welcomed the agreement between Iran and the United States of America, and intensified our efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel continues to expand its aggressions that have targeted densely populated residential neighborhoods, claiming the lives of unarmed civilians in various parts of Lebanon, particularly in the capital Beirut, heedless of all regional and international efforts to stop the war—not to mention its utter disregard for the principles of international law and international humanitarian law, which it has never respected in the first place. And all friends of Lebanon are called upon to help us stop these aggressions by all available means," Salam wrote on X.