July 21,2025
RED FM News Desk
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, along with 24 of her international counterparts, has signed a joint statement declaring that “the war in Gaza must end now,” while urging Israel to halt the displacement of Palestinians.
The signatories—including the foreign ministers of France, Japan, and the U.K., as well as the European Union commissioner for equality, preparedness, and crisis management—criticized Israel’s aid distribution system as “dangerous.”
They also condemned Hamas for continuing to hold hostages taken during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and demanded their immediate release. The ministers expressed horror that over 800 Palestinians have died while attempting to access aid.
“The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached unprecedented levels. The Israeli government’s method of delivering aid is dangerous, exacerbates instability, and strips Gazans of their human dignity. We denounce the slow, insufficient aid and the inhumane deaths of civilians, including children, seeking basic necessities like water and food,” the ministers stated.
The group strongly opposed Israeli proposals to concentrate Palestinians in Gaza into a single city, labeling permanent forced displacement as a violation of international humanitarian law.
They also criticized the Israeli government’s plans to expand settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly efforts to separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem.
Oren Marmorstein, spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, rejected the joint statement, calling it “disconnected from reality” and accusing it of sending the wrong message to Hamas.
He argued the statement fails to focus pressure on Hamas and ignores its responsibility for the conflict. Most food supplies allowed into Gaza by Israel are distributed through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor supported by Israel. However, witnesses and health officials report that since GHF began operations in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire while trying to reach aid distribution points.
Israel had blocked aid for three months before establishing GHF sites, effectively shutting down hundreds of distribution points previously run by international agencies across Gaza.
Israel defends this action as necessary to prevent aid from reaching Hamas, which it claims had been selling essential supplies and food to fund its fighters. However, UN agencies contend that such misuse was not widespread.
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