Israel Must Be Held Accountable For Its Actions: Finland Peace Envoy

Israel must be held to account for its deadly attacks last week on the Gaza Strip, a Finnish MP who also serves as a peace envoy said on Wednesday.

"At least 44 Palestinians, including 15 children, have been killed in Gaza, while hundreds have been wounded. Bombing densely populated civilian neighborhoods cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. Israel must be held accountable for its actions," Suldaan Said Ahmed, the Finnish foreign minister's special representative on peace mediation in the Horn of Africa region, said on Twitter.

Ahmed also said that the world should pay more attention to the continuing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

"Gaza is effectively the world's largest open-air prison, where shortages of everyday supplies are common, and Israel systematically destroys critical infrastructure and kills civilians," he wrote.

Last week's Israeli airstrikes on Gaza also wounded hundreds of people.

Ahmed, the first Somali-born member of the Finnish parliament, was appointed to his peace envoy post last month. -