Gaza situation is gravely concerning: FM

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Sunday expressed concern over the situation in an around Gaza, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

“Again, the situation in and around Gaza is gravely concerning. Sustainable peace is needed. Civilian populations must be protected. To this end, we call for restoring a political horizon and immediate de-escalation,” Haavisto wrote in a twitter post of the ministry.

At least 15 Palestinians, including Tayseer al-Jabari, commander of the PIJ's armed wing, and a 5-year-old girl have been killed and more than 125 others wounded in the Israeli airstrikes on Friday and Saturday, reported Xinhua, quoting the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

The heightened tension came after Israeli forces arrested a senior official of the PIJ in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday.

The PIJ vowed to take revenge, prompting the Israeli military to raise its alert along the border with Gaza.

Israel and Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, have fought several wars in the Palestinian enclave in recent years, the last of which was in May 2021.