Pakistan calls on UNSC to ‘act fast’ to stop Israel from occupying Gaza City

• Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City could trigger ‘another calamity’ in the enclave, with regional consequences: UN Assistant Secretary-General

NEW YORK: Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, has called upon the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action to stop Israel from occupying Gaza City.

Speaking at the emergency meeting of the Security Council on Israel’s plans to control Gaza City, Ambassador Ahmad said, “Pakistan believes that action needs to be taken now.

“The UNSC must immediately call upon Israel under Chapter 7 of the charter to refrain from its stated plan of occupying Gaza City.”

“The UNSC must be ready to impose a cost on Israel if it defies the demand of the Council … the council must enact enforcement measures, including the deployment of an international protection force to save the besieged population,” Ambassador Asim added.

UN says Israel's Gaza plans risks 'another calamity'

In related development, a UN official warned Sunday that Israel's plan to take control of Gaza City could trigger "another calamity" in the enclave, with regional consequences.

"If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction," UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the United Nations Security Council.

The Security Council was holding an emergency meeting on Sunday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet approved the military operation earlier this week, drawing global criticism.

Called by Denmark, France, Greece, the United Kingdom and Slovenia, all members of the Council supported the talks, except the United States, according to media reports.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, defended the planned offensive during a news conference for international media.

He said it was part of Israel's efforts to defeat the militant group Hamas, saying it wouldn't take long and insisting there were no plans to occupy Gaza.

"[Israel is] talking in terms of a fairly short timetable because we want to bring the war to an end," he said.

Italian dockworkers refuse to load arms onto Saudi vessel bound for Israel

Meanwhile, dockworkers at the Italian port of Genoa have refused to load weapons onto a Saudi vessel destined for the Israeli-occupied territories, Press TV reports.

The Saudi ship Bahri Yanbu, which arrived from Baltimore in the United States, was scheduled to take on military equipment manufactured by Italian arms conglomerate Leonardo.

This equipment included an Oto Melara cannon destined for Abu Dhabi, and possibly tanks and other heavy weaponry already staged in the terminal yard.

Hamas accuses Netanyahu of ‘series of lies’ during Gaza press conference

Hamas has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for telling what it called a “series of lies” at a press conference where he laid out his vision for victory in Gaza, AFP reports.

“Netanyahu continues to lie, deceive and try to mislead the public. Everything Netanyahu said in the press conference is a series of lies, and he cannot face the truth; instead, he works on distortion and hiding it,” Taher al-Nunu, the media adviser to the head of Hamas’s political bureau, told AFP.

Israel’s Supreme Court orders government to respond to captives’ families

Several family members of captives still held in Gaza have filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding clarification from the government about their loved ones, Al Jazeera reports.

They wish to be formally informed about how governmental discretion is exercised in connection with “determining the conditions for ending the war and releasing the hostages”, according to Israeli media.

The court has now decided that the state is required to submit its response by August 24.