(LONDON) -- Twenty-five countries have released a joint statement calling for the immediate end of the war in Gaza and accusing Israel of not allowing sufficient aid in, demanding it must do so to comply with international humanitarian law.
"We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now," the statement began. "The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity."
"The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law," the statement further said.
Throughout the conflict, Israel has maintained they are sending enough aid into Gaza but international aid organizations have repeatedly said there is not enough aid, and the United Nations has reported conditions of malnutrition inside of Gaza.
The statement is signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.
The call to action was released Monday following an incident Sunday in which at least 81 Palestinians were killed and another 150 were injured while trying to gain access to food, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, which said the majority of those killed were gathered near the Zikim border between Gaza and Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that its troops fired near crowds "in order to remove an immediate threat posed to them," though it wasn't specific. A review is ongoing, but "preliminary review indicates that the reported number of casualties does not align with existing information," according to the IDF.
Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement on X Monday that the country "rejects" the 25-nation joint statement "as it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas."
"All statements and all claims should be directed at the only party responsible for the lack of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire: Hamas, which started this war and is prolonging it," Marmorstein's statement said.
The statement further said that while there is a "concrete proposal for a ceasefire deal," Hamas "stubbornly refuses to accept it."
"The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas’s role and responsibility for the situation." Marmorstein said. "Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides."
"At these sensitive moments in the ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid statements of this kind," the Marmorstein statement concluded.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the joint statement "disgusting" in a post on X. "25 nations put pressure on @Israel instead of savages of Hamas! Gaza suffers for 1 reason: Hamas rejects EVERY proposal. Blaming Israel is irrational," the post said.
At least 875 people have been killed in Gaza while trying to get food aid in recent weeks, according to the United Nations.
"It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid," the joint statement said. It also condemned Hamas for refusing to release the remaining Israeli hostages.
"The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release," the statement said. "A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families."
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Monday that he is "appalled by the accelerating breakdown of humanitarian conditions in Gaza."
The "last lifelines keeping people alive are collapsing," Guterres said in part, adding that he "condemns the ongoing violence, including the shooting, killing, and injuring of people attempting to get food for their families."
"Civilians must be protected and respected, and they must never be targeted. The population in Gaza remains gravely undersupplied with the basic necessities of life," Guterres' statement said.
The 25 signatory countries further called on the Israeli government to "immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively," and for "all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law."
"We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire," the statement continued. "Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this."
"We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region," the statement concluded.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV also renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
"I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict," the pope said during Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, according to the Associated Press.
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