More bombs dropped on Gaza than Tokyo during WWII: Japanese premier

ISTANBUL (AA) – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called Israeli war on Gaza “heartbreaking,” according to local media.

“It is heartbreaking that many times more bombs were dropped on Gaza than on Tokyo in massive US air raids during World War II,” NHK news quoted Ishiba as saying.

Ishiba’s remarks came after receiving information from Seita Akihiro, health director at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.

The Israeli army has dropped 18,000 tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip since last October, or about 1.5 times the explosive force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in World War II, according to officials in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

During World War II, the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing 140,000 victims.

Three days later, another bomb hit Nagasaki, killing an additional 70,000. Japan surrendered August 15, 1945, ending World War II.

However, Ishiba stressed that Tokyo “must continue its assistance” to the UN agency despite Israel banning UNRWA from operating in the country.

Emphasizing the need to maintain UNRWA’s activities, Ishiba said he “will continue to convey Japan’s position on the issue.”

Seita, who is of Japanese origin, told Ishiba that “Japan’s humanitarian assistance is well-received across the world,” NHK news reported.

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following since October last year, killing over 44,300 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,900. Several analysts believe that the actual death toll outstrips these official statistics by at least 4-5 times, including those gone missing and unaccounted for, as well as those dying of starvation and infectious disease.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

– Tokyo to provide aid to displaced people in Lebanon –

Meanwhile, Tokyo also says it will deliver relief supplies to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) for displaced people in Lebanon.

Under the International Peace Cooperation Act, Japan will supply 6,500 blankets, 6,500 sleeping mats, and 2,500 plastic sheets following a UNHCR request, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

This contribution supports UNHCR’s ongoing humanitarian efforts amid growing challenges in aiding displaced populations in Lebanon, it noted.