ISTANBUL

Malaysia on Friday "unequivocally" condemned "incessant and targeted" Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said deliberate targeting of hospitals, including the most recent "devastating assault" on Kamal Adwan Hospital, where patients and medical staff were forcibly removed, "clearly" violates international humanitarian law and UN resolutions.

"The relentless airstrikes, forced evacuations and systematic targeting of residential areas and designated safe zones are clear acts of genocide,” the statement said, adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "obstructionist tactics have stalled meaningful progress in ceasefire negotiations" and exacerbated suffering of Palestinians.

The ministry called on the international community to "live up to the collective responsibility" to the end the "atrocities and devastations" and protect civilian lives.

“Peace, justice, and respect for international law must prevail,” the statement said, calling for an immediate end to the occupation of Palestinian territories and ensuring Palestine’s rightful membership in the UN.

Israel has killed more than 45,550 victims, mostly women and children, in Gaza since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and reduced the enclave to a rubble. Negotiations to end the war have not succeeded yet.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

According to a Human Rights Watch report in December, Israel’s restriction of Gaza’s water supply to levels below minimum needs amounts to an act of genocide.​​​​​​​

An Amnesty International report the same month also concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.