G7 foreign ministers balance criticism of Hamas, support for Israel and pressure for “urgent action” to help Gaza civilians.
Senior diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) have called for “humanitarian pauses” in Israeli bombing to provide aid to desperate Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign ministers from major industrial democracies announced Wednesday that they had agreed on a unified position on the war between Israel and Hamas, following intensive meetings in Tokyo.
They issued a statement condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense, but calling for humanitarian pauses in Israeli bombing of Gaza.
The G7 statement sought to balance criticism of Hamas attacks and support for Israel with a call for “urgent action” to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave, who desperately need food, water, medical care and shelter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy stressed that they “support humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgent aid, movements of civilians and the release of hostages”.
The ministers also condemned “the increase in extremist settler violence against Palestinians”, which the ministers described as “unacceptable, which undermines security in the West Bank and threatens prospects for lasting peace”.
At least 154 Palestinians have been killed and 2,150 arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since the war between Israel and Hamas began a month ago, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
As diplomats gathered in central Tokyo, a United Nations agency said thousands of Palestinians were fleeing on foot south to Gaza with only what they could carry after running out of food and supplies. water in the north.
Israel said its troops were battling Hamas fighters deep inside Gaza City, which was home to about 650,000 people before the war and where the Israeli military says Hamas has its central command and a vast labyrinth of tunnels.
Since October 7, Israeli bombings have killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, about 40 percent of them children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are internally displaced, according to UN figures, and thousands are seeking refuge in hospitals, including makeshift canvas shelters set up in their parking lots. .
Hospitals in the enclave have come under fire, with many struggling to continue operating due to a lack of fuel and medical supplies.
The UN says health, sanitation, water and food services in Gaza are near “breaking point”.