A ceasefire has emerged after almost two weeks of intense shelling between Gaza and Israel.
Hundreds have been killed in the escalating conflict.
According to Hala Husni Fariz, the Palestinian ambassador to Stockholm, there is no winner after what happened.
- I do not think it is a victory for anyone because so many civilians lost their lives and homes.
Thousands of homes have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
- The catastrophic situation in Gaza is now even worse.
It was Hamas that started firing rockets at Israel. Was it right?
- We must get to the bottom of the situation, a situation of continuous Israeli aggression and an occupation for 54 years.
Crimes under international law.
This did not begin yesterday or eleven days ago, but decades ago.
Blame dead civilians on Israel
Do you justify Hamas launching the shelling?
- I answer by asking if you justify that an occupying power, which is waging war against the people it occupies, invokes UN Article 51, which has no bearing in this case.
Can the war be justified given that 66 Palestinian and two Israeli children were killed?
- Nothing can justify the killing of civilians.
With that said, Israel deliberately targeted civilian buildings.
Israel was not surprised. What responsibility does Hamas have for the deaths?
- The responsibility lies only with the occupying power.
Israeli Ambassador: Hamas is hiding behind civilians
Israeli Ambassador Ilan Ben-Dov does not share Hala Husni Fariz's view.
He emphasizes that more than 4,000 rockets have been fired at inhabited areas of Israel from Gaza in recent days.
- Hamas bears sole responsibility for this.
They use Palestinian civilians as human shields.
Hamas commits double war crimes.
They are firing on Israeli citizens while hiding behind Palestinian children and civilians.
It was Israeli rockets that killed the children, right?
- It was we who were attacked.
Hamas, a radical Islamist organization, attacked Israel.
They are harming Palestinians by firing from the middle of their population, firing from schools, hospitals and preschools.
Israel is the stronger power. Shouldn't you show more restraint?
- In 2017, you had a terrorist attack here on Drottninggatan. In the last ten days, we have been hit by 4,300 such attacks. We are responsible for protecting Israelis. All other countries had done the same. It is not just our right, but our responsibility.