The joint statement, released on 21/7 and signed by the foreign ministers of 28 countries, condemned "the trickle of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, as they sought basic necessities like water and food".
The countries issuing the statement include most EU members, along with the UK, Norway, Canada, Japan, and Australia. The foreign ministers expressed "horror" at reports that more than 800 civilians had died while seeking aid.
Most of the deaths occurred near distribution points of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization backed by the US and Israel. The GHF uses US private security and logistics companies to deliver supplies into Gaza, bypassing the UN-led system that Israel accuses of allowing Hamas to seize aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies this accusation.
The UN describes the GHF model as unsafe and violating humanitarian fairness standards, which the GHF denies.
In the joint statement, the foreign ministers stated that "the Israeli government's aid distribution model is dangerous, destabilizing, and deprives the people of Gaza of their dignity." "The suffering of Gaza's civilians has reached a new low," the statement emphasized.
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A woman stands amid rubble at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 2/2024. Photo: Reuters |
A woman stands amid rubble at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 2/2024. Photo: Reuters
In response, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the statement was "not true to reality" and would send the wrong message to Hamas. "It does not focus pressure on Hamas and does not recognize Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation," the ministry added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar later said he had spoken with his British counterpart David Lammy about regional issues, including Gaza. He accused Hamas of being the cause of the suffering of the people and the prolongation of the conflict.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that blaming Israel was "absurd" because it was Hamas that rejected all proposals to end the fighting.
Palestinians take aid from a truck in a video posted by the IDF on 20/7. Video: IDF
The countries that issued the statement said Israel was obstructing essential humanitarian aid and called on it to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law. They urged Tel Aviv to immediately lift restrictions to allow the flow of aid into Gaza and to facilitate the safe and effective operation of humanitarian organizations and the UN.
The countries added that they were "ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political roadmap to establish security and peace" for Israelis and Palestinians.
The call from the 28 nations came as Israeli tanks entered the southern and eastern districts of Deir al-Balah city in Gaza for the first time on 21/7.
Much of Gaza has been destroyed after more than 21 months of fighting, which erupted when Hamas gunmen raided Israeli territory on 7/10/2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages back to Gaza.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to statistics from regional health authorities.
Vu Hoang (Reuters)
