Leading industrial democracies that make up the Group of Seven declared their unanimity on Wednesday in response to intense talks in Tokyo. They denounced Hamas, affirmed Israel’s right to self-defense, and demanded “humanitarian pauses” in order to expedite aid to the beleaguered Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Amid criticism of Hamas’s strikes on Israel, the states issued a statement attempting to strike a balance by urging “urgent action” to provide food, water, medical attention, and shelter to civilians in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.
The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stressed that their countries “support humanitarian pauses to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and release of hostages.”
Meanwhile, the ministers criticized “the rise in extremist settler violence against Palestinians,” calling it “unacceptable, undermines security in the West Bank, and threatens prospects for a lasting peace.”
Thousands of Palestinians are reportedly fleeing south on foot in Gaza with only what they can carry as they run out of food and water in the north, according to a U.N. agency.
