G7 Supports Extended Humanitarian Pause in Gaza

Gaza/UNICEF PHOTO via news.un.org

JAKARTA - The foreign ministers of the G7 countries support extending the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip and emphasize the need to protect civilians.

In a joint statement,  the G7 foreign ministers said every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian support for civilians, including supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine.

"We support further extension of this (humanitarian) pause and future pauses if necessary to increase aid and to facilitate the release of all captives," said the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US and foreign policy chiefs European Union country Josep Borrell.

They called the extension of the humanitarian pause “an important step to repatriate all remaining captives and to address the overall ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

Emphasizing the importance of protecting civilians and compliance with international law, the foreign ministers stressed, "We remain steadfast to our commitment to work with all partners in the region to prevent the conflict from escalating."

They also expressed commitment to a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Monday evening, Qatar announced an agreement  extending the humanitarian pause for another two days, during which prisoner exchanges will resume.

Israel launched a major offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas attacked them on October 7.

The attacks  killed more than 15,000 people, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women. On the Israeli side alone, 1,200 lives were lost.