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Canada News.Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
UK, France among nations calling for end to Israel's Gaza war
London [UK], July 22 (ANI): More than two dozen countries have called for an immediate end to the war on Gaza, warning that civilian suffering has 'reached new depths', in the latest sign of increasing international pressure on Israel over its military offensive, Al Jazeera reported. The joint statement, issued on Monday, came after more than 21 months of fighting that have led to catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza's more than two million residents. Signatories included Israeli allies such as the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and Canada, along with 21 other nations and the European Union. 'The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,' the statement read. 'The war must end now.' The countries urged a negotiated ceasefire, the release of captives held by Palestinian fighters, and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza. According to Al Jazeera, the signatories 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 United Nations and the Gaza Health Ministry have reported that at least 875 people have been killed while trying to access food since late May, when Israel began to slightly ease a more than two-month-long total blockade. 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the countries said in the statement. '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 the statement marked a significant escalation from Israel's traditional allies in their criticism of the war. 'This also reflects a broader consensus beyond Europe,' she reported. '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.' The joint appeal also underscored readiness to back a political process for peace. 'The next ceasefire must be the last ceasefire,' British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said while addressing Parliament. He thanked the United States, Qatar, and Egypt for their continued mediation efforts. Al Jazeera reported that ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing, but no breakthrough has been achieved so far. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated that expanding military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas at the negotiation table. The war began after Hamas led a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing at least 1,129 people and taking 251 others hostage. According to Israeli sources, about 50 captives remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are believed to be alive. In response, Israel launched a full-scale military campaign in Gaza. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, the majority being women and children. Al Jazeera noted that the joint statement was one of the most comprehensive international condemnations of Israel's actions in Gaza since the beginning of the war. (ANI)
Al Jazeera
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UK court rejects bid to stop Palestine Action terrorism ban
UK court rejects bid to stop Palestine Action terrorism ban NewsFeed The UK's High Court upheld the government's move to ban activist group Palestine Action as a 'terrorist organisation' after it said it damaged two military planes. Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego explains what this means, as hundreds of people gathered in London to protest the ruling. Video Duration 02 minutes 30 seconds 02:30 Video Duration 00 minutes 54 seconds 00:54 Video Duration 01 minutes 25 seconds 01:25 Video Duration 02 minutes 18 seconds 02:18 Video Duration 02 minutes 40 seconds 02:40 Video Duration 01 minutes 08 seconds 01:08 Video Duration 01 minutes 43 seconds 01:43
Al Jazeera
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Spain and Portugal plugged back in following unexplained power outage
Electricity supply has been restored in most of Spain and Portugal, after a huge blackout left millions of households in the dark. More than 99 percent of power networks in Spain were restored by Tuesday morning and most had 'stabilised' in Portugal, according to the respective power operators, following Monday's outage that stranded people in buildings, elevators and public transport and cut access to phones and the internet. Authorities in the Iberian Peninsula have yet to explain what caused the sweeping power cut. Spain's electricity grid operator Red Electrica said it was able to supply virtually all of the country's electricity demand on Tuesday morning. Portugal's REN said by late Monday it had all of the country's 89 power substations back up and running. In the Spanish capital Madrid, 'loud cheers' erupted overnight as the power returned, Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reported. 'But many people were still stranded in the stations because the trains were not moving,' she said. Madrid's metro system said 80 percent of the trains would be operating again during rush hour on Tuesday morning. In Portugal, the majority of the nation's 6.5 million households had their power restored overnight, according to REN. With the power back on, attention is turning to what caused such widespread failure of the region's networks. Barely a corner of the Iberian Peninsula, which has a joint population of about 60 million, escaped the blackout. Officials said there was little precedent. Freak climate conditions and cyberattacks are among the candidates suggested. Officials have urged calm as the process of analysing the incident starts. Both the Spanish and Portuguese governments scheduled crisis meetings on Tuesday morning. Officials at the Portuguese grid operator have cited a 'rare atmospheric phenomenon' as the culprit, Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego reported. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the source of the failure was 'probably in Spain'. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said 'all the potential causes' of the incident are being analysed and warned the public 'not to speculate' because of the risk of 'misinformation', noting that 'no hypothesis or possibility is being ruled out.' He said about 15 gigawatts of electricity, equivalent to about 60 percent of the power being consumed at the time, had 'suddenly disappeared'. Red Electrica stated that the outage was 'exceptional and totally extraordinary'. The company's director of network operations told media that the disconnection of the European power grid in France was responsible. However, it remains unclear what led to this disconnection. The outage was the second large failure of European power systems in as many months. In March, Europe's busiest airport, London's Heathrow, was forced to close after it suffered a 'significant' power failure, disrupting air transport worldwide.
