G7 says 'supports humanitarian pauses and corridors' in Gaza

G7 says ‘supports humanitarian pauses and corridors’ in Gaza

By : AFP

Date: 8 November 2023 10:10am WAT

People stand by as civil defence workers search for victims and survivors in the rubble of a building that was hit by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

Palestinian search through the rubble of a collapsed building looking for victims and survivors following a strike by the Israeli military on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 4 , 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. – Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

G7 foreign ministers said Wednesday that they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Israel-Hamas war but refrained from calling for a ceasefire.
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“We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza… we support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages,” the ministers said in a joint statement after talks in Japan.

The statement also said the ministers “emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law as it seeks to prevent a recurrence” of the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

It added: “We call on Iran to refrain from providing support for Hamas and taking further actions that destabilize the Middle East, including support for Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors, and to use its influence with those groups to de-escalate regional tensions.”
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