Israel’s diplomatic chief said on Monday that international pressure on his country was increasing over military operations in the Gaza Strip and that efforts must be made to extend their “legitimacy.”
• Also read: UN warns that humanitarian operations in Gaza “will cease within 48 hours” due to fuel shortages.
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“We have two or three weeks before international pressure really increases, but the Foreign Office is working to expand the window of legitimacy and the fighting will last as long as necessary,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said, according to comments from his spokesman Sent to AFP.
More than five weeks after the start of the war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, international humanitarian organizations are stepping up calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which has been shelled by Israel and is lacking drinking water and medicine There is a severe shortage and humanitarian aid is scarce.
EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Janez Lenarcic called on Israel on Monday to take “real” humanitarian pauses in the war against Hamas.
For his part, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, stressed that these humanitarian breaks must be “immediate” to ensure the delivery of vital aid, especially fuel for hospitals.
According to the UN, the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants, 1.6 million of whom have been displaced since the start of the war, are in a catastrophic situation.
The fighting is particularly intense in the north of the Gaza Strip and in Gaza City, where several hospitals housing many displaced people are surrounded by clashes between Israeli soldiers and Hamas fighters.
According to the Hamas Health Ministry, Israeli bombings have killed 11,180 people, mostly civilians, including 4,609 children, in the Gaza Strip since October 7.
According to the latest official Israeli figures, the Hamas attack claimed around 1,200 lives on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, who were killed on October 7th.