25 countries, EU condemn 'inhumane killing' of civilians in Gaza

More than two dozen countries, including the UK, Australia, and Japan along with the EU on Monday condemned Israel's 'inhumane killing' of civilians in the Gaza Strip, called for an immediate end to the war in the besieged enclave.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of 25 countries and the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib, said 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," it said.

"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."

Labelling the killing of over 800 Palestinians while seeking aid since the start of operations by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in late May as "horrifying," the statement noted that 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," read the statement, 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 UK as well as the EU commissioner.

Also condemning the detention of hostages, they called for their "immediate and unconditional release." Hamas took around 250 Israeli hostages in its Oct. 7, 2023 attack. Around 20 are still believed to be alive.

"We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively."

Calling on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law, the statement said proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a "humanitarian city" are "completely unacceptable."

"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 parties also reaffirmed their "complete support" to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.