Australia, along with more than 30 countries including the UK, Canada, Japan, and several European nations, issued a joint statement on Monday urging an immediate end to the war in Gaza, The Guardian reports. The coordinated appeal marks a significant escalation in international pressure on Israel as global concern grows over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region. The statement, signed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts, called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” and allow humanitarian organisations “to do their life-saving wor

Australia, along with more than 30 countries including the UK, Canada, Japan, and several European nations, issued a joint statement on Monday urging an immediate end to the war in Gaza, The Guardian reports. The coordinated appeal marks a significant escalation in international pressure on Israel as global concern grows over the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region. The statement, signed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts, called on Israel to “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” and allow humanitarian organisations “to do their life-saving work.” “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the ministers declared, condemning what they described as “the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food.” Citing figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry and the United Nations human rights office, the statement said that the deaths of over 800 Palestinians who were trying to access aid were “horrifying.” The signatories also criticised Israel’s proposed plan to relocate Palestinians into a so-called “humanitarian city,” calling such a move “completely unacceptable” and a violation of international humanitarian law. “Permanent forced displacement is a clear breach of global legal standards,” the statement added. AP News reports that the Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism, calling the joint statement “disconnected from reality” and warning that it sent “the wrong message to Hamas.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein responded on social media platform X, asserting that “Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides,” and claimed the militant group had refused an Israeli-backed ceasefire and hostage release proposal. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also condemned the joint statement, describing it as “disgusting” in a post on X. He argued that international pressure should instead be directed at “the savages of Hamas.” Germany, notably absent from the list of signatories, maintained a separate line. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on X that he had expressed “greatest concern” about the humanitarian situation in a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. He urged Israel to fulfill its agreements with the EU to facilitate more aid delivery into Gaza.  

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