UK, France, Germany say Gaza 'humanitarian catastrophe must end now'
"We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the U.N. and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work to take action against starvation," they said in a joint statement released by Berlin.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that "the most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay."
"Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," they said.
"Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law."
More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza after more than 21 months of war.
Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis in Gaza, which the World Health Organization has called "man-made."
Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later while sidelining the longstanding U.N.-led distribution system.
The European leaders also stressed that "the time has come to end the war in Gaza."
"We urge all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate cease-fire."
"We stand ready to take further action to support an immediate cease-fire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region," they said.
Starmer had earlier said he would hold an "emergency call" on Gaza on Friday with Macron and Merz.
Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the conflict with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel's military campaign in Gaza has so far killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
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by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 July 2025, 14:16 The U.N. General Assembly is bringing high-level officials together this week to promote a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict that would place their peoples side by side, living in peace in independent nations. Israel and its close ally the United States are boycotting the two-day meeting, which starts Monday and will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers of France and Saudi Arabia. Israel's right-wing government opposes a two-state solution, and the United States has called the meeting "counterproductive" to its efforts to end the war in Gaza. France and Saudi Arabia want the meeting to put a spotlight on the two-state solution, which they view as the only viable road map to peace, and to start addressing the steps to get there. 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Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those lands for a future independent state alongside Israel, and this idea of a two-state solution based on Israel's pre-1967 boundaries has been the basis of peace talks dating back to the 1990s. The two-state solution has wide international support. The logic behind it is that the populations of Israel, east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza are divided equally between Jews and Palestinians. The establishment of an independent Palestine would leave Israel as a democratic country with a solid Jewish majority and grant the Palestinians their dream of self-determination. Why hold a conference now? France and Saudi Arabia have said they want to put a spotlight on the two-state solution as the only viable path to peace in the Middle East — and they want to see a road map with specific steps, first ending the war in Gaza. 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All 193 U.N. member nations have been invited to attend the meeting and a French diplomat said about 40 ministers are expected. The United States and Israel are the only countries who are boycotting. The co-chairs have circulated an outcome document which could be adopted, and there could be some announcements of intentions to recognize a Palestinian state. But with Israel and the United States boycotting, there is no prospect of a breakthrough and the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on an end to their conflict. Secretary-General António Guterres urged participants after the meeting was announced "to keep the two-state solution alive." And he said the international community must not only support a solution where independent states of Palestine and Israel live side-by-side in peace but "materialize the conditions to make it happen."
