Smoke and flames rise from a residential building hit by an Israeli strike in Gaza City on Monday.Khamis Al-Rifi/Reuters
Twenty-five countries, including Canada and many European Union member states, issued a joint statement on Monday urging Israel to immediately end its war in Gaza.
It is the latest indictment of the war, and perhaps the broadest yet, by countries viewed as Israel’s partners and allies. The criticism is aimed particularly at Israel’s approach to providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians who are desperately in need.
The letter from the countries’ foreign ministers says that the “suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths.”
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,” it says.
For months, UN agencies have warned that people in Gaza are at serious risk of famine. In May, Prime Minister Mark Carney, along with the leaders of Britain and France, wrote a letter opposing the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and saying that the level of human suffering there is “intolerable.” They called on Israel to immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. It is not clear what, if any, impact that letter had.
Last week, the UN’s Human Rights Office said that 875 “desperate and hungry Gazans” have been killed in recent weeks attempting to get food. It said most of these deaths occurred while people were trying to access aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private American company that is supported by the Israeli and U.S. governments.
The foundation set up its distribution points in May. But UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations have condemned this system of distributing crucial supplies, saying that it weaponizes aid.
In their Monday statement, the foreign ministers said that it is “horrifying” that more than 800 Palestinians were killed seeking food and essential items. They criticized the Israeli government’s denial of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and said Israel must comply with international humanitarian law.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday that 'the slaughter has to end' in Gaza after 28 countries including Britain, Japan and a host of European nations issued a joint statement Monday saying the war 'must end now.'
The Associated Press
In addition to Canada, the letter was signed by foreign ministers representing Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It was also signed by the European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management.
The letter also says that the hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, “continue to suffer terribly,” condemns their detention and calls for their immediate release. The statement says a ceasefire is the best chance of bringing them home and ending the “agony of their families.”
Israel said it rejects the joint statement, writing in a social-media post that “it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas.”
“There is a concrete proposal for a ceasefire deal, and Israel has repeatedly said yes to this proposal, while Hamas stubbornly refuses to accept it. The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas’s role and responsibility for the situation,” the post from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the letter “disgusting” in a social-media post. He said the 25 countries put pressure on Israel instead of Hamas. “Gaza suffers for 1 reason: Hamas rejects EVERY proposal. Blaming Israel is irrational.”
The letter’s signatories called on Israel to immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian aid and “urgently enable” the UN and humanitarian non-governmental organizations to do their work.
“We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a ‘humanitarian city’ are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,” they said.
“We strongly oppose any steps toward territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
They said a settlement plan proposed by Israel’s Civil Administration would divide a future Palestinian state in two, which would be a “flagrant breach of international law, and critically undermine the two-state solution.” The statement said Israeli settlement building across the West Bank and East Jerusalem has increased, along with settler violence against Palestinians and “this must stop.”
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Separately, Prime Minister Mark Carney met Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday at his office on Parliament Hill.
Mr. Carney complimented King Abdullah on his role in “reinforcing peace and security in the region” and reiterated the message from the letter issued on Monday.
King Abdullah said he knows that Canada will be “a partner for peace in our region.” He called the letter strong and said it is appreciated by Jordanians.
The signatory countries are urging parties and the international community to come together to bring the conflict to an end through an unconditional and permanent ceasefire. The statement says that “further bloodshed serves no purpose” and reiterates the group’s support of the efforts of the U.S., Qatar and Egypt in ceasefire negotiations.
“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region,” it says.
Mark Kersten, an assistant professor at the University of the Fraser Valley and senior consultant at the Wayamo Foundation, a Berlin-based non-profit that works to strengthen the rule of law and promote justice for international and transnational crimes, said the question is what will happen if the statement is met by more atrocities, starvation, war and a refusal to release hostages.
“Is the ‘price’ of ignoring this statement going to be another statement in two months, or are there finally going to be consequences?” he said.
Mr. Kersten said when we reflect on this period of time, it won’t be statements that Mr. Carney, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, former prime minister Justin Trudeau or former foreign minister Mélanie Joly will be judged by.
“They’ll be judged on whether or not they cared enough to take actual action to end the slaughter and war.”
With a report from The Canadian Press