“We, the signatories listed below, are united by a simple and urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now”. It is read in a declaration by the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani together with colleagues from 22 other countries, European and beyond, and the European Commissioner for Equality, the preparation and management of crises.
In addition to Italy and the EU, the declaration published on the Farnesina website is signed by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. «The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached levels never seen before.
The model of distribution of the aid of the Israeli government is dangerous, feeds instability and deprives the citizens of Gaza of human dignity. We condemn the drop distribution of aid and the inhuman killing of civilians, including children, who try to satisfy their most elementary needs, such as water and food. It is horrible – reads the declaration – that over 800 Palestinians were killed while looking for help. The refusal by the Israeli government to provide essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable “.
«The hostages cruelly held prisoners from Hamas from 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continuous detention and ask for their immediate and unconditional release. A ceased the negotiated fire offers the best hope of bringing them home and putting an end to the agony of their families, “continues the appeal. The 23 countries invite Israel «to immediately revoke the restrictions on the flow of aid and to allow urgently to the United Nations and the humanitarian NGOs to carry out their life saved safely and effectively. We invite all parties to protect civilians and respect the obligations of international humanitarian law ».
“The proposals to transfer the Palestinian population to a” humanitarian city “are totally unacceptable. The permanent forced displacement – adds the note – is a violation of international humanitarian law. We firmly oppose any initiative aimed at modifying the territory or demography in the occupied Palestinian territories. The settlement plan E1 announced by the Israeli Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide the state in two. Palestinian, representing a flagrant violation of international law and seriously compromising the solution of the two states.
UN: “devastating” Israeli order evacuare center gaza
An Israeli military order that imposes on the residents and displaced people in the area of Deir El-Balah, in Gaza, to move south to have “another devastating blow” to humanitarian efforts in the territory devastated by the war. This was stated by the UNITE OCHA Humanitarian Agency. The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs “warns that the mass displacement order issued today by the Israeli army has inflicted another devastating blow to the already fragile supply lines that keep the population of the Gaza Strip in life”, reads a note.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli army ordered the inhabitants of the central area of Gaza to immediately leave the area due to imminent operations, and entire families were seen drag their few assets and head south. Ocha said that the United Nations staff “remains” in the territory and that their coordinates have been communicated to the “interested parties”. “These places, like all civil sites, must be protected, regardless of displacing orders”, said OCHA, warning that any damage to health clinics, water infrastructures and humanitarian aid warehouses in the area “will have lethal consequences”.
According to the initial estimates of the OCHA, at the time of the emission of the evacuation order in the area there were between 50,000 and 80,000 people. Since the beginning of the war, almost the entire population of Gaza, who is also facing a serious lack of food, has been unlined at least once due to the repeated Israeli evacuation orders. According to OCHA, the last order means that 87.8% of the Gaza area is now subject to displaced orders or is located within Israeli militarized areas.
This means that “2.1 million civilians are crammed into a 12% fragmented of the strip, where the essential services are collapsed,” said the United Nations Agency. The order “will limit the ability of the UN and our partners to move safely and effectively within Gaza, suffocating humanitarian access just when it is most necessary”. On Sunday Israel revoked the residence permit to the head of the OCHA office in the country, Jonathan Whittall, who repeatedly sentenced the humanitarian conditions to Gaza. The Israeli military campaign in Gaza caused the death of 58,895 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Ministry of Health of the territory governed by Hamas. The UN considers these figures credible.