BAGHDAD/AMMAN/TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iraq, Jordan and Iran on Saturday condemned the targeting of displaced civilians in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli airstrike killed 90 Palestinians, half of them women and children, in displacement shelters in Khan Younis, south of Gaza.
Iraqi government spokesman Basim al-Awadi said in a statement that after nine months of war on Gaza, "the massacres of the brutal aggression continue, with the latest atrocities claiming the lives of dozens of innocent children and women."
"We renew our call for the international community and major powers to assume their responsibility regarding the continued blatant aggression of this entity (Israel), which considers itself above international law and justice," the statement said.
Al-Awadi also said that there is a need for immediate action to save Palestinian people from "starvation, systematic killing, and attempts to force them out of their lands," as well as to deliver necessary aid, medical supplies, and food to meet their humanitarian needs.
At least 90 Palestinians were killed after an Israeli airstrike hit tents for displaced people in the Mawasi area in Khan Younis on Saturday morning, the Gaza-based health authorities updated late in the day.
Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed the morning raid as another "systematic targeting of civilians and refugee shelters."
The ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah affirmed the kingdom's absolute denunciation of Israel's ongoing violations of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as its defiance of the broad international calls for an end to the war.
Also condemning Israel's brutal move against displaced civilians in Gaza, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani urged the international community to "take decisive and effective action and do its utmost to completely stop Israel's criminal moves against the defenseless Palestinians in Gaza in a lasting manner."
According to local health authorities, about 300 others in Gaza were also wounded in the morning raid, including dozens of children and women, with some sustaining critical injuries.
Earlier in the day, Israeli state-owned Kan TV news said the target of this Israeli attack was Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, noting that the army was awaiting the results of the raid.
Hamas has rejected the claim, saying it came in the context of covering up Israel's crimes.
Deif, 58, has been considered one of Israel's most wanted men for many years and was previously injured during several assassination attempts against him. ■
