U.K., France and 23 other countries say the war in Gaza ‘must end now'
The foreign ministers of countries including Australia, Canada and Japan said 'the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths' and condemned 'the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.'
'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the statement said.
'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law,' it added.
The signatories included the foreign ministers of about 20 European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the European Union commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management.
The U.S. and Germany did not sign the statement.
The signatories called for an immediate ceasefire, adding they are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region.
Gaza's population of more than 2 million Palestinians is in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.
Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
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19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Palestinians are ‘walking corpses' says UN as Starmer calls starvation ‘unspeakable and indefensible'
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San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump envoy Witkoff says US cuts short Gaza ceasefire talks as Hamas lacks 'good faith'
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22 minutes ago
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More Than 100 Dead From Hunger in Gaza, Including Dozens of Children
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Gaza has since been under blockade, after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel killing around 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages on Oct. 7 2023. Israel has since imposed a siege on Gaza and has halted the entry of goods into the strip. While the severity of the blockade has fluctuated throughout the war, Israel most recently imposed a near-total blockade on Gaza, that has since been partially lifted in May. Gaza's new aid distribution plan, controlled by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) means that nearly all aid entering the enclave can only be collected at certain times from four centers run by GHF, three of which are in the south of Gaza. GHF has faced severe criticism from international organizations, including the United Nations which has called the foundation's aid scheme 'a sadistic death-trap.' Almost 250 organizations signed a joint statement in June calling for change to Gaza's aid distribution, saying that 'starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones,' under the GHF system. In response, the GHF has said its 'process of securely moving aid into a network of Secure Distribution Sites (SDSs) is allowing for the distribution of millions of lifesaving meals directly to the people of Gaza without interference or diversion.' Hundreds of Palestinians killed while seeking aid The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since the new aid distribution program was established on May 27. 'As of 21 July, we have recorded 1,054 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food… 766 of them were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites and 288 near U.N. and other humanitarian organizations' aid convoys,' said spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan. The Israel Defense Forces said they conducted thorough investigations following reports of civilian casualties at aid distribution points. 'Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned,' the IDF said in a statement to TIME. 'The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.' At the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah, Davies noted that more than 3,400 patients have been treated for weapon wounds since May 27. 'A very high majority of those do tell us that they were attempting to access these [GHF] food distribution sites when they were injured, and there is a very high percentage of gunshot wounds to those patients.' The ICRC was not able to confirm where gunfire that has injured patients has come from. She added that the issue of hunger is being compounded by a number of other 'catastrophic' challenges. 'People have been wounded, people are grieving, they've lost family members who've been killed, children who have been killed,' she said. 'They've lost their homes.' Since the start of the war, Gaza's Health Ministry has reported that over 59,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Journalists in Gaza face starvation On Thursday, major news agencies including the BBC, Reuters, AFP, and The Associated Press issued a rare joint statement warning that Gaza-based journalists—often the only reporters able to document conditions on the ground—are now facing the same desperate hunger as those they cover. 'For many months, these independent journalists have been the world's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza,' the statement read. 'They are now unable to feed themselves and their families.'
