New Delhi: In a sign of the breaking Western consensus of strong support for Israel, the UK, along with France and 26 other countries primarily from Europe, has condemned Tel Aviv for “drip feeding of aid” and the “inhuman killing of civilians” in Gaza, and nudged it to “comply” to its obligations under international law.
“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. 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,” the statement signed Monday by the foreign ministers of 28 countries that include New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
“It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. 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.”
Scores of Palestinians in the last few months have been killed by Israeli forces at aid sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) backed by Israel and the US to handle the delivery of food aid to Palestinians in Gaza from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Israel has often accused without proof that a large number of UNRWA workers were members of Hamas.
The foreign ministers’ statement called on the “Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” as well as to “enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs” to do their work unencumbered in the Gaza Strip.
Over 20 months into the conflict, around 59,000 Palestinians have been killed, while the Gaza strip is estimated to house the most number of child amputees per capita in the world. The conflict began when Hamas launched a strike on Israel on 7 October, 2023, which left around 1,150 people dead, along with a further 250 taken hostage.
A number of hostages remain with Hamas. The foreign ministers’ statement points out that the best case scenario for the release of hostages arises through a “negotiated ceasefire” to bring them home and end “the agony” for the families of those captured.
Amongst those calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza include four out of five members of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group that includes Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the US. Furthermore two Quad members–Australia and Japan–have also signed on to the statement.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. in a call Monday with his British counterpart David Lammy, rejected the pressure applied by the 28 countries, pointing out that “international pressure must be on Hamas!” in a statement on X.
In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry added: “Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid.”
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‘Displacement a violation of int’l law’
The foreign ministers’ also took aim at recent proposals for the construction of a “humanitarian city” floated by Israeli government members for the Gaza strip.
“Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a ‘humanitarian city’ are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement said.
The foreign ministers’ added: “We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermining the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank including East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.”
The statement comes after Israeli tanks entered the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah, where some of the hostages are believed to have been kept, according to Reuters. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), its staff residence and main warehouse in the city was attacked Monday by the Israeli military.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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