North Korea on Tuesday denounced Israel over its escalating conflict with the Hamas militant group, saying it is the "consequence of Israel's ceaseless criminal actions" against the people of Palestine.
The criticism marked Pyongyang's first response to the conflict after Hamas launched rocket attacks on Israel during a major Jewish holiday Saturday and Israel staged retaliatory strikes against it.
"A large scale armed conflict has occurred between Hamas of Palestine and Israel," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a short article without specifying which side first launched the attacks.
"The international community calls the conflict the consequence of Israel's ceaseless criminal actions against the people of Palestine," the newspaper said, adding the "fundamental" solution is an independent Palestinian state.
The criticism came days after the newspaper denounced Israeli soldiers for killing Palestinians in separate incidents that occurred ahead of the conflict.
An official at South Korea's unification ministry said Pyongyang's claim may have been aimed at strengthening an "anti-U.S. alliance."
"It is not surprising given that North Korea has revealed its perception on various international issues that is far from common sense or conventional standards," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, adding the North may have "considered an anti-U.S. alliance in the bigger picture."
Radio Free Asia, a Washington-based media outlet, reported on the suspected use of North Korean weapons by Hamas fighters, citing a video shared by the X account War Noir.
It said one of the fighters was seen holding an F-7 high-explosive fragmentation rocket manufactured in the North, which had been exported to the Middle East in the past.
It remains unclear whether North Korea directly supplied the weapons to Hamas or whether they were provided through transactions involving other countries.
Source: Yonhap News Agency