Britain, 28 nations say Israel's war in Gaza 'must end now'
July 21 (UPI) -- Nearly 30 nations on Monday issued a joint statement saying Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza has "reached new depths" and "must end now."
Meanwhile, Israel in rejecting it said the statement "sends the wrong message to Hamas" and was "disconnected from reality."
Britain and 28 other nations, including Canada, France, Italy and Australia called for remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas to be released, denounced settler activity in the West Bank and Israel's "humanitarian city" scheme in southern Gaza.
"We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," read the joint statement in part singed by its foreign ministers.
The other signatories included Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Ireland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Austria and Belgium.
They called it "horrifying" that over 800 Palestinians have so far been killed seeking help, adding that it was "unacceptable" that Israeli officials continue to deny "essential humanitarian assistance" to Gaza's civilian population.
"Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law," the letter stated.
In addition, it was critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and came out against a recent "city" proposal by Israeli officials.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz floated a plan to construct a "city" camp in ruined Rafah to eventually hold all Palestinians in Gaza.
The allied countries wrote that Israel's aid delivery model in Gaza is "dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity."
Reports by CBS suggest since May that Israeli forces have routinely opened fire on people in Gaza near food distribution sites.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials do not allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza, making it nearly impossible to independent verify facts such as rising death figures by the Hamas-run health ministry.
The group of nations called for Israel to "immediately" lift its restrictions on the flow of much-needed aid into Gaza in order to "urgently enable" the United Nations and other humanitarian non-government orgs to "do their life saving work safely and effectively."
Late Monday morning, Israel's foreign ministry flatly rejected the international statement by suggesting it was "better to avoid statements of this kind" during "sensitive moments" in the ongoing cease-fire negotiations.
Their words failed to "focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation," Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein posted on X.
He claimed that Iran's terror proxy was the "sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides."
It got released hours after further IDF strikes killed three people in a central area of the war-torn enclave where thousands of displaced Palestinians refugees take shelter, and days after Israeli military bombings killed three at a Catholic Church injuring several, including a priest.
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