LONDON

The Maltese prime minister on Tuesday strongly condemned what he called Israel's "barbarous" attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Robert Abela noted that Monday night's intense strikes on Gaza left more than 300 people, including children and women, dead.

"On behalf of the @maltagov I strongly condemn these barbarous attacks," he wrote on X.

Abela added: "I cannot emphasise enough Malta’s plight for peace, in Gaza, Ukraine & beyond."

Within five hours after Israel reneged on ceasefire talks and resumed its genocidal campaign in the enclave, local authorities in Gaza said that over 322 Palestinians had been killed and missing.

Israel had agreed on a ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas since Jan. 19, and the two sides were in talks on extending the ceasefire to the second phase before Tel Aviv suddenly launched a massive assault amid the ongoing Muslim holy month of fasting, Ramadan.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 48,500 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them women and children, and left Gaza in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Premier 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.