ADELAIDE — Britain and Australia on Friday declared the need for an “immediate cessation of fighting” in Gaza, as diplomatic pressure built on Israel to rethink a planned ground assault on the southern city of Rafah.
Australian and UK foreign and defence ministers stressed the “urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released”, in a statement after talks in Adelaide.
Washington has for months vetoed calls for resolutions including that language, shielding its closest Middle Eastern ally Israel from UN criticism as it avenges the attacks of October 7.
But there is concern in Washington about the human toll of Israel’s five-month-old Gaza offensive and the political fallout across the Middle East, AFP reported.
The operation has enraged the Arab world and claimed almost 32,000 lives, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
There are also suspicions in Washington that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the country’s longest-serving leader — may be dragging out the war for political reasons.
A UN resolution would heap pressure on him, and Israel, to temper the operations. But it is far from clear that any resolution would halt the war altogether.
Brushing aside critics, Netanyahu has vowed to intensify operations by moving into Rafah — hoping to rout the remnants of Hamas forces responsible for bloody October 7 raids into Israel that killed about 1,160 people, mostly civilians.
London’s call for an “immediate cessation of fighting” is a sign that Britain is also growing more anxious about the toll and impact of what Israel calls Operation Swords of Iron.
Britain and Australia said a cessation was now urgently needed to “allow aid to flow and hostages to be released as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire.”
The pair called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “catastrophic” and “called on Israel to allow immediate, safe, unimpeded and increased humanitarian relief to reach Palestinians in Gaza”.
Britain is also a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, Russia, China and France.
European Union leaders were urged Thursday to show the same respect for international law in Gaza as they aim to uphold in Ukraine, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians face dire food shortages and possible famine.
At an EU summit in Brussels, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the leaders to remain strong and united in their respect of standards enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law, Reuters reported.
“The basic principle of international humanitarian law is the protection of civilians. We must stick to principles in Ukraine as in Gaza without double standards,” Guterres told reporters, standing alongside EU Council President Charles Michel, who chaired the summit.
A UN food agency has warned that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, appears determined to launch a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where many people have sought refuge from the fighting.
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