Ceasefire talks in the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas will not be possible until all hostages held by the Palestinian Islamist movement are released, the US president said on Monday. Joe Biden. “The hostages have to be released, then we can talk,” the US president said when asked if he would favor a “hostage-in-lieu-of-ceasefire” deal.
Mr Biden then apologized for having to leave a White House event to promote his economic agenda ahead of the 2021 presidential election, saying he needed to go to the crisis room for “another problem we have to deal with”.
He made these statements after Hamas announced that released two hostages she took when she launched her attack on Israel.
The same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Monday for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, calling on the leaders of the two warring sides to make “courageous choices”.
“The first step must be an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, which will save civilian lives thanks to the rapid and effective distribution of humanitarian aid throughout Gaza,” Volker Turk said, according to a press release issued by his services in Geneva. .
“Humanity must prevail,” he insisted, stressing that “too many civilians, among them too many children, have already lost their lives — on both sides.”
In the Gaza Strip, the small enclave where 2.4 million Palestinians live huddled, international humanitarian aid began trickling in on Saturday, via Egypt. However, the quantities delivered are completely insufficient, according to the UN.
“Unless more aid arrives for Gazans, including fuel, medicine, food and water, in the coming days, or even hours, many more people in Gaza will die, from hunger, thirst or lack of medical care,” warned Mr. Turk, expressing “deep concern” for the survival of the residents of the Palestinian enclave, not excluding “members of my own staff” and other UN agencies.
The High Commissioner emphasized that the parties must redouble their efforts to guarantee respect for international law, recalling that wars also have laws, especially for the protection of civilians, and that those who violate them must be held accountable for their actions their.
“All civilians captured and held hostage by Palestinian armed organizations must be released immediately and unconditionally. Kidnapping and hostage-taking are prohibited under international law,” Mr. Turk insisted.
He underlined at the same time that the measures taken by the Israeli authorities to “deprive civilians of access to absolutely necessary goods and services” constitutes a “form of collective punishment”, which is also prohibited by international law.
Palestinian armed groups “must stop firing rockets indiscriminately” and the Israeli military “must avoid the use of wide-spectrum explosives in densely populated areas,” Volker Turk demanded.
The Israeli authorities talk about 220 hostages, Israelis, foreigners, or people with dual citizenship. They were abducted and taken to Gaza by members of the Palestinian Islamist movement during their unprecedented incursion into Israeli territory on October 7, triggering the war in which Israel has since pounded the Gaza Strip to “wipe out” Hamas.
Over 1,400 people were massacred in Israeli territory, the majority of them civilians. According to the Israeli military, about 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in the counterattack that allowed its forces to regain control of the areas that were attacked.
In the Gaza Strip, 5,087 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 2,055 children, were killed in the relentless shelling in retaliation by the Israeli army, according to the Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza. Entire neighborhoods were leveled.
During his phone conversation with Pope Francis on Sunday, US President Joe Biden said they discussed the Israel/Hamas war and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as reported by Agence France-Presse and relayed by Agence France-Presse.
“The pope and I are on the same wavelength, he was very interested in what we are doing,” the American president assured yesterday.
Adding that he explained to the head of the Roman Catholic church “what the plan is” for US support for Israel, he said the pontiff expressed “in general” his “support”.
Source: News Beast
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
