UK, France and 23 other nations demand Israel's war on Gaza ‘must end now'
The statement on Monday came after more than 21 months of fighting that have triggered catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million residents.
Israeli allies the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada and 21 other countries, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement that the war 'must end now'.
'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,' the signatories added, urging a negotiated ceasefire, the release of captives held by Palestinian fighters and the free flow of much-needed aid.
They condemned '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 UN and the Gaza Health Ministry have recorded 875 people killed in Gaza while trying to get food since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade.
'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the countries said. '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.'
Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego, reporting from London, said that the statement was a significant escalation from Israel's allies over its war on Gaza.
'This also reflects a broader consensus beyond Europe,' she said.
'European nations have condemned the situation in Gaza, and now you have foreign ministries – such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Japan – that put their names in this statement,' our correspondent said.
Call for immediate ceasefire
The new joint statement called for an immediate ceasefire, saying countries are prepared to take action to support a political pathway to peace in the region.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in ceasefire talks, but there appears to be no breakthrough, and it is not clear whether any truce would bring the war to a lasting halt. Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Speaking to Parliament, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy thanked the United States, Qatar and Egypt for their diplomatic efforts to try to end the war.
'There is no military solution,' Lammy said. 'The next ceasefire must be the last ceasefire.'
Israel launched the war on Gaza after Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,129 people and taking 251 others captive. Fifty captives remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, mostly women and children.
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