G7 ministers call for humanitarian pauses in Gaza; NATO says it supports the idea | World

UN and G7 call for humanitarian pause in conflict between Israel and Hamas

G7 Foreign Ministers called on Wednesday (8) for humanitarian pauses in the war between Israel and Hamas to allow for the entry of aid and the release of hostages, and defended the return to a “broader peace process”, currently in which Israeli forces continue to attack the Gaza Strip.

The G7 is made up of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the USA.

At the end of a two-day meeting in Tokyo, the Group of Seven said in a joint statement that Israel has the right to defend itself, while also highlighting the need to protect civilians and comply with international humanitarian law.

“We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, movement of civilians and release of hostages.”

Asked whether all G7 members were calling for a humanitarian pause or whether some were advocating a full ceasefire, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the statement “very accurately reflects” what was discussed and that there was ” real unit” between the block.

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stated this Wednesday (8) that the entity’s allies support humanitarian pauses so that humanitarian aid items can be sent to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist group Hamas sparked the most recent war with an attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and taking about 240 hostages.

Since then, the Israeli bombing of Gaza has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is a body controlled by Hamas. This number has not been independently verified.