The US State Department said it continues to call on Palestinians and Israelis to take action to reduce violence.
The European Union calls for an “immediate truce”
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday called for an “immediate truce” to halt Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and rocket attacks on Israel. Borrell said in a statement, “We urge an immediate and complete ceasefire that will end Israeli military operations in Gaza and the current rocket attacks on Israel, which is unacceptable.” The European official also called for “respect for international humanitarian law”, according to the agency “Agence France Presse”.
4 countries call for an end to ‘bloodshed’ in Gaza
The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Egypt and Jordan on Thursday called for an end to violence between Israel and armed factions in Gaza. German Foreign Minister Analina Baerbock said after talks with her counterparts in Berlin that “the bloodshed must stop now”. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “negative developments must stop, peace must be restored”. Safadi added, “It is necessary to calm the situation and take confidence-building measures that can lead to a political horizon in order to achieve peace.” Later, the foreign ministers, in a joint statement, expressed “serious concern” over the escalation. The ministers added: “We urge an immediate and complete ceasefire, which puts an end to Israeli military operations in Gaza and the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel”, praising the efforts made by Egypt to stop the bombardments . The ministers condemned “the deterioration of the security situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel, and the ongoing developments in Gaza, which have resulted in unacceptable civilian casualties, including women and children”. The four countries announced that they would “work with all parties to pave the way for the resumption of a credible political process”.
“Anything that causes stress must stop.”
Ministers from the four countries stressed “the need to put an end to all that causes tension and provokes violence, including unilateral measures that undermine the feasibility of a two-state solution and the prospects for a just and peaceful peace. sustainable”. He called on the Israeli and Palestinian ministers to “strictly implement” the commitments made in Jordan in February and renewed in Egypt in March, in order to avoid further violence.
field developments
On Thursday, Israel carried out airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, from where a new batch of missiles was launched, in an exchange of bombardments that killed 6 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, including two leaders of the Islamic Jihad movement. Thus, the balance sheet of the escalation started on Tuesday, the most violent since August 2022, rose to 28 dead on the Palestinian side, including children. According to the IDF, more than 550 rockets were fired from the Strip into Israel. The military confirmed that “of these missiles, 440 crossed the border, while the Iron Dome system intercepted 154 missiles, while 5 fell inside the strip.” On Thursday, the Islamic Jihad movement said rockets were again fired at Israel around 9 a.m. (0600 GMT). An Israeli was killed after a rocket fired directly from the Gaza Strip hit a building in the Rehovot settlement near Tel Aviv on Thursday, according to Israeli media.
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