PARIS (dpa-AFX) - France, Germany and the UK urged Israel to lift its more than 50 days old blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Essential supplies are either no longer available or quickly running out. Palestinian civilians - including one million children - face an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death. In this context, the Foreign Ministers of these counties issued a joint statement urging Israel to immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Defense Minister Israel Katz' recent comments politicising humanitarian aid and Israeli plans to remain in Gaza after the war are unacceptable because they harm prospects for peace, according to the Foreign Ministers. 'Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change. Israel is bound under international law to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid,' they noted.
The ministers called on Israel to ensure unhindered access for the UN and humanitarian organisations to operate safely across Gaza while appealing to Hamas not to divert aid for their own financial gain or use civilian infrastructure for military purposes.
Expressing outrage at recent strikes by Israeli forces on humanitarian personnel, infrastructure, premises and healthcare facilities, the three nations demanded that they must allow the urgent healthcare needs of the population to be met, while allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.
France, Germany and the UK urged all parties to return to a ceasefire, and called on Hamas for the immediate release of all the remaining hostages, who are enduring terrible suffering.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
