NNA – G7 foreign ministers sought Wednesday to hammer out a common line on the Israel-Hamas war while vowing there would be no let-up in their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The ministers were expected to issue a joint statement later in Tokyo calling for quot;humanitarian pausesquot; in Gaza, while stopping short of urging a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arriving for the talks from his latest whirlwind Middle East tour, called Tuesday for the G7 to speak quot;in one clear voicequot; on the conflict.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamiwaka said late Tuesday that the G7 ministers quot;need to call on the relevant countries to take humanitarian pauses and ensure humanitarian access, which is a pre-condition for sufficient and continued humanitarian assistancequot;.
A diplomatic source said after a working dinner focusing on Gaza the same day that there was quot;great unity that in view of the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, humanitarian care for the Palestinian civilian population needs to be urgently expandedquot;.
The source added that there were quot;constructive exchangesquot; about humanitarian pauses, as well as the need for discussions among the G7 and other countries in the region about the future of Gaza and how to stop the conflict from spreading.
The Israeli military has relentlessly bombarded Gaza since October 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that left 1,400 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
The Hamas-run health ministry says the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 10,300 people.–AFP
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