ATHENS 

Greece's leftist opposition parties expressed solidarity with Palestinians after an Israeli airstrike killed more than 100 civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"The Government, instead of being afraid to utter the words 'cease-fire,' sticking to the logic of the 'given ally,' should take the lead — like other European countries — in the effort to secure it," the SYRIZA party said in a statement.

It reiterated its solidarity with the "hard-pressed" Palestinian people, its strong condemnation of the killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip, and underlined the need to support the UN efforts for an immediate cease-fire in the territory.

The statement came after Israeli forces shelled a crowd of Palestinians early Thursday as they awaited humanitarian aid south of Gaza City, killing at least 112 Palestinians and injuring 760 others, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.

SYRIZA also called for an end to the humanitarian crisis, the return of the Israeli hostages, and the immediate resumption of credible talks for a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.​

Moreover, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) called the Israeli attack "yet another heinous criminal act in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people," in a statement.

"Now the solidarity of the Greek people and the youth towards the people of Palestine must be strengthened even more decisively, demanding ‘freedom in Palestine’, stop the carnage in Gaza," it said.

In addition, the social-democratic PASOK party's spokesperson, Dimitris Mantzou, said in a statement that the attack "reveals that the humanitarian tragedy of Gaza is intensifying, now taking on unprecedented proportions."

He demanded that the government intensify its efforts, within the framework of the international community, for an immediate cease-fire, for the end of bloodshed and the return of the hostages to Israel.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and over 70,457 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.