Once again, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza has sparked international concern, with criticisms mounting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the situation.
In an interview with a US Spanish-language TV network, US President Joe Biden said that Netanyahu’s Gaza policy was a “mistake” and urged Israel to call for a temporary ceasefire.
“I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden said when asked about Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country.
“I’ve spoken to everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They’re prepared to move this food in. There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and food needs of those people. It should be done now.”
Joe Biden
Biden also described the Israeli attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers as “outrageous.”
Meanwhile, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed said, “For me, of great concern is that we have lost our moral compass on Gaza, as a humanity, as the international community.”
“We need to do something about that fast – we’re late,” Mohammed told a news conference.
“There are thousands of children that continue to lose their lives, that live amputated. There are hundreds that we are waiting to come home, hostages.”
She did not detail the specific measures she is calling for, but UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of captives held in Gaza.
The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, disputed claims by Israel and the US that aid into Gaza has been significantly increased.
“There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north,” UNRWA said in its daily situation report.
OCHA Spokesperson, Jens Laerke pointed out that the trucks screened by the Israeli government office that coordinates aid entry were “typically only half-full. That is a requirement that they have put in place for screening purposes.”
He pointed to delays linked to the crossing point opening hours and the fact that Israel has barred Egyptian drivers and trucks from being in the same area at the same time as Palestinian drivers and trucks. “That means there’s not a smooth handover.”
While Israel complains about UN distribution, he stated that half of “the convoys that we were trying to send to the north with food [in March] were denied by the very same Israeli authorities.”
UK’s Position On Arm Sales To Israel Unchanged
Separately, UK Foreign Minister, David Cameron said that his country will not halt arms sales to Israel by British companies.
“The latest assessment leaves our position on export licences unchanged. This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received,” Cameron said.
“And as ever, we will keep the position under review,” he added.
When asked for more detail by a reporter, Cameron refused to elaborate on what legal advice his government was given when assessing whether or not to restrict arms sales to Israel.
Responding to Cameron’s comments, Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s Crisis Response Manager, said that it was “predictable that David Cameron still insists that there are no grounds for the UK to suspend arms transfers to Israel even after Israeli forces have killed thousands of civilians, including aid workers in Gaza.”
“The Foreign Secretary ought to have told his counterparts in the US administration that the UK will immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel, including the supply of components for US-made F-35 bombers which are being used by Israeli forces in Gaza with such horrendous consequences for Palestinians,” Benedict said.
He stressed, “This was yet another missed opportunity from David Cameron to move himself and other UK officials away from their current complicity in Israeli war crimes, apartheid and possible genocide.”
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