A number of activists have written to the government urging it to recall its ambassador in Tel Aviv after another escalation of Israel’s operations in Gaza.

The letter to Prime Minister Robert Abela and Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg is endorsed by more than 150 members of Maltese civil society and number of organisations. President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca is among the signatories.

Seasoned diplomat Cecilia Attard Pirotta has served as Malta's resident ambassador to Israel since 2021.

“We affirm our belief that justice and equality will bring peace and security, and that Malta’s tradition of supporting the Palestinian people is even more relevant now in the face of the genocide being carried out by Israel," the letter says.

They called for Malta to recall its ambassador to Israel, on account of the country's "repeated and indiscriminate violations" of international law.

"As a neutral state, Malta believes that aggression and violence do not bring peace and respect for human rights, and that the murder of thousands of Palestinian children has nothing to do with the condemnation of terrorism,” the letter reads.

Malta joined 140 nations in the UN General Assembly calling for an immediate ceasefire and end to the Israeli siege of Gaza. However, the situation of 2.3 million people in Gaza is deteriorating every day.

"Wounded children with no surviving family have become common, as hospitals, schools and the most densely populated areas are targeted again and again,” the activists said in a statement."

The original letter was signed by Yana Mintoff, the daughter of former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff as well as his granddaughter Cetta Mainwaring. 

In a Facebook post, Coleiro Preca denounced the international "hypocrisy" in when faced with the cruelty of the Gaza war. Children, newborns, the elderly and the Palestinian people are not Hamas, she wrote. 

Israel's attack of Gaza was prompted by a surprise attack by Hamas terrorists inside Israel on October 7, which killed around 1,400 people. Israel responded by attacking the Gaza strip, with health officials there saying the repeated bombings have killed more than 10,000 people, including many children.