NAM urges immediate end to Israeli offensive in Gaza

Tehran, July 12 (IANS) The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Saturday strongly condemned the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians, calling for its immediate end in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, as the incumbent chairman of NAM, said in a statement that the Israeli blitz in Gaza over the past few days "has once again reminded the world of the sad tragedy of the Palestinian nation and flagrant breach of rules and principles of international law by the Zionists (Israelis)", Xinhua reported.

"The recent acts of aggression have created an extremely worrisome and catastrophic situation, and seriously jeopardised regional and international peace and security," the statement said, calling for an immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Since the beginning of operations, the Israeli army has targeted about 1,090 sites in Gaza, taking the death toll to over 100 people. Dozens of them were civilians.

NAM, with 120 members and 17 observer countries, was founded in the early 1960s.

Iran chairs NAM for the period 2012-15.