(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani and 24 counterparts in Europe Asia and Oceana on Monday urged Israel to immediately halt its over-20-month-old war against Islamist Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, saying the “unacceptable” suffering of civilians had “reached new depths”.
“We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now,” read the statement, which condemned the “drip feeding”of aid, the “inhumane” killing of Palestinian civilians including children and “horrifying” toll of 800 slain while seeking the essentials needed to survive, including food and water.
“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, the statement continued.
“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 is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.”
“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,” said the statement.
The statement also demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza since the group staged its deadly cross-border rampage, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250 on 7 October 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
“The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly,” the statement said.
“We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.”
“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs to do their life-saving work safely and effectively.”
The statement called on “all parties” to protect civilians and uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Israel’s plan to relocate all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (thousands and ultimately millions) to a “humanitarian city” or zone in Rafah “are completely unacceptable,” the statement went on.
“Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.
“We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the statement said, referring to Israel’s revival of its controversial E1 (East 1) plan for over 3,000 housing units east of Jerusalem, which would cut off the northern and southern West bank.
The plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration (the governing Israeli body in the West Bank) if implemented, “would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution,” the statement warned.
“Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank including East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.”
The foreign ministers warned that their countries were “prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire”.
“We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” they said.
“Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this,” the foreign ministers underlined.
The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It was also signed by the European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management.
The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surpassed 59,000 since the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October, 2023, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Monday.
