UN, EU, others condemn renewed Israel strikes in Gaza

The United Nations, European Union and other regional states in the middle east have reacted to Israel’s renewed bombardment of the Gaza strip after a two month ceasefire.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iran are some of the countries who have spoken up against Israel’s actions. 

The UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday that he was horrified by Israeli strikes on Gaza saying that it would “only heap further misery on a palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions”

While the EU aid commissioner Hadja Lahbib called for a ceasefire citing the plight of the civilian population in Gaza. 

For Egypt, one of the key players in brokering the initial ceasefire deal, the renewed strikes amounted to "a blatant violation" of the ceasefire agreement and represented "a dangerous escalation". 

With Jordan and Saudi Arabia calling for an end to the strikes especially in civilian populated areas.

The latest data released by Palestinian health authorities puts the number of casualties at around four hundred including young children. 

However the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strikes saying he had told the military to take "strong action" against Hamas in response to the group's refusal to release the remaining hostages and because of their rejection of ceasefire proposals.

The World Health Organization WHO has also raised concerns on the humanitarian and health impact of the renewed shellings in the strip.

"WHOrepresentative in the occupied palestinian territory Dr Richard Peeperkorn said in a zoom meeting with other representatives that the strikes will worsen access to treatment.

"First of all, we've seen since March 2, that the entry of all humanitarian and commercial supplies into Gaza has been halted. It's severely impacting the humanitarian operation and it's exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation. 

So a continuous flow of aid is essential for the survival of the Gaza population and we call for immediate lifting of the blockade of aid and so life-saving assistance."

The airstrikes threaten the complete collapse of the two-month ceasefire as Israel vowed to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.

The Palestinian militant group, which still holds 59 of the 250 or so hostages seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire and jeopardising efforts by mediators to secure a permanent truce.

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