Fear and loss ‘cannot become the new normal’ under Gaza ceasefire, Save the Children says
Save the Children has said reports of high casualties among children from Israel’s renewed attacks across Gaza are “excruciating” and called for the ceasefire to be respected and upheld.
“After some weeks of cautious optimism and hopes of rebuilding Gaza, children and families are once again reliving scenes of fear and loss,” Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, said in a statement.
“This cannot become the new normal under a ceasefire. A lasting ceasefire must mean safety, relief and recovery for children, not continued suffering. It must be fully respected and upheld.
“We are pleading: stop this now. Protect the ceasefire, protect children, and give Gaza’s families a step towards the genuine peace they have been waiting for.”
‘We need a chance for peace, not excuses for new strikes,’ senior EU figure says
The European Union has called on “all parties” to respect the Gaza ceasefire, but a senior EU official went further in slamming Israel’s air strikes on the Palestinian territory.
“We need a chance for peace, not excuses for new strikes,” European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera said in a social media post.
Her criticism of Israel was not echoed by the EU’s executive arm.
“We reiterate our call to all parties to continue to respect the ceasefire,” commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said, without mentioning Israel’s air strikes this week that Gaza’s Health Ministry said killed more than 100 people.
“We urge all parties to fully commit to implementing all phases of the plan to end the conflict in Gaza and to refrain from any action that could jeopardise the agreement,” El Anouni added.
“There is no military solution to this conflict,” he said.
Hamas calls on ceasefire mediators to pressure Israel to halt its attacks
Hamas has called on the mediators of the ceasefire agreement to pressure Israel to stop its attacks and abide by the deal, while also accusing the US in being complicit in helping Israel “impose new realities by force” in Gaza.
“The treacherous escalation against our people in Gaza reveals a clear Israeli intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force, under the cover of American complicity that grants Netanyahu’s fascist government political cover to continue its crimes,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
“The biased positions of the American administration in favour of the occupation constitute actual partnership in the bloodshed of our children and women, and direct encouragement of the continuation of the aggression.”
It added: “The movement also calls upon the mediators and guarantors to assume their full responsibilities regarding this escalating aggression, and to immediately pressure the occupying government to halt its massacres and fully adhere to the terms of the agreement.”
