(Xinhua) -- Switzerland on Saturday joined a chorus of international criticism against Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip that has so far killed more than 200 Palestinians, the official Swissinfo news website reported.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Israel has a right to protect itself but condemned Saturday's attacks on Gaza City as "excessive," according to the report.
The ministry has also called for a ceasefire from all sides and for humanitarian supplies to be allowed into the blockaded area immediately, Swissinfo said.
Israeli warplanes pounded dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes on Saturday to retaliate for rocket fire from Hamas militants, according to media reports.
The bloodshed took place at a time when the international community, including the Quartet which groups the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, is making painstaking efforts to seek a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflicts -- a Palestinian state to live in peace with a secure Israel.
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