G7 foreign ministers juggle critique of Hamas with support for Israel and call for urgent actions’ to aid Gaza civilians.
The top diplomats of The Group of Seven (G7) have demanded “humanitarian pauses” in Israel’s bombardment to provide assistance to the struggling Palestinian civilians living in Gaza Strip.
Foreign ministers of the top industrial democracies announced on Wednesday that they’ve agreed on a united stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas after intense meetings in Tokyo.
The statement released by the group condemned Hamas and affirmed Israel’s right of self-defense but called for a pause in humanitarian aid during Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The G7 statement tried to mix criticism of Hamas’s violence and acceptance of Israel with a call to take “urgent action” to help civilians living in the besieged Palestinian enclave who are in dire need of water, food and medical treatment as well as shelter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy stressed the fact that they “support humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and release of hostages”.
There was also a condemnation of “the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians” Ministers also said that it was “unacceptable, undermines security in the West Bank, and threatens prospects for a lasting peace”.
At most at least 154 Palestinians are dead and 2,150 taken prisoner in the hands of Israeli troops in the in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began just one month ago as per the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
As diplomats got together in central Tokyo in Tokyo, a United Nations agency said thousands of Palestinians are walking south to Gaza with just the things they have to carry after being unable to get food or water in the north.
Israel claimed its troops were fighting Hamas fighters in Gaza City, which was home to around 650,000 people prior to the war. This is in which the Israeli military believes Hamas is its main command as well as the vast network of tunnels.
Since the 7th of October, the Israeli attack has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 Palestinians approximately 40% of whom were children, according to figures compiled by Gaza’s health authorities.
More than the entire population of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants are internally displaced according to UN estimates, with a number of thousands needing refuge in hospitals, and even in temporary shelters made of canvas in car parks.
The hospitals across the enclave have faced criticism as many struggle to function despite the shortage of fuel and medical equipment.
The UN states that Gaza’s sanitation, health water, and food services are close to reaching “breaking point”.
Credit: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
