– I want as strongly as I can to encourage and demand that there be a humanitarian ceasefire, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to news. On Tuesday night, the UN’s emergency aid office reported that the Israeli attacks on Gaza between Sunday and Monday were some of the heaviest so far in the war on the Gaza Strip. The UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories said today that the possibility of continuing to provide emergency aid to those living in Gaza “is non-existent”. On Tuesday, the Israeli army stated that “ground operations” were taking place in three areas in Gaza – Jabalia, Shejaiya and Khan Younis, NTB writes. – We are in the most intense day since the start of the ground invasion in terms of the number of terrorists killed, the number of exchanges of fire and the amount of firepower from the air and the ground, wrote the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the statement that came today, Tuesday. According to Hamas, Israeli forces have killed over 16,000 people in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Smoke rose from buildings in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, as fighting between Israel and Hamas continued today. Photo: MAHMUD HAMS / AFP – Close to mankind’s darkest hour The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the situation in the Gaza Strip is getting worse with each passing hour and points to more powerful Israeli bombing in the south. – There is intensified bombing everywhere, including in the southern areas such as Khan Younis and also Rafah, says Richard Peeperkorn in the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO’s representative in Gaza drew a gloomy picture of the warfare during a press conference earlier today. – Many people are desperate and almost in constant shock. We are close to humanity’s darkest hour. The bombing and the senseless loss of life must stop now, and we need a lasting ceasefire, says Peeperkorn. Støre: Could be a humanitarian disaster Norway’s prime minister calls the situation extremely serious. – What is happening now is an enormous burden on civilians. With high casualty figures, death tolls, children being killed. – It is extremely serious. In addition, I think we are now heading towards what could become a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, says Støre. Many Palestinians have fled south to the Gaza Strip. After a week of truce between the parties at the end of November, the war flared up again at the end of last week. The Israeli attacks are now creeping ever further south and are making it more difficult for the population of Gaza to find shelter from the bombs. – Winter is coming. It’s raining. Water is polluted. There is a risk of major disease outbreaks. This now happens day by day, says Støre. He believes that it imposes a very special responsibility on Israel to ensure that this warfare can stop, “so that these sufferings do not take on enormous dimensions.” – Among the worst attacks in our time The Israeli attacks on Gaza are “among the worst attacks on a civilian population in our time”, according to NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland. Egeland calls the war “a failure on behalf of humanity” and believes that a lack of emergency aid has worsened the situation. – It leads to starvation among Gaza’s population, and it worsens an already precarious humanitarian situation, he says. According to Egeland, 1.9 million of Gaza’s inhabitants are on the run. Nearly two out of three homes are said to have been damaged or razed to the ground. The Refugee Agency’s secretary-general also adds that those responsible for the “killing, torture and atrocities” committed against Israel on 7 October must be held accountable. He also says that all Hamas hostages must be released immediately. Jan Egeland photographed in his office earlier this autumn. Egeland was central to the first talks that led to the Oslo agreement between Israel and the PLO in 1993. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / news Hamas: No ceasefire “until the aggression stops” According to Reuters, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan says that there will not be any negotiations or exchanges of hostages and prisoners before “the aggression against Gaza stops”. – If there is a new ceasefire. How will Hamas exploit him? Is this a dilemma? – There is a dilemma linked to all warfare, says Støre. According to the international law of war, an attack against an otherwise legal military target is nevertheless illegal if those who attack expect it to cause excessive damage to civilians. – With the consequences this now has for civilians, in my opinion this goes beyond the proportionality that applies in humanitarian law, says Støre. He points out that when military activity is used, civilians must be protected. – The destruction, the killing, the wounds and the humanitarian burden of not having access to what is necessary to live can make this a huge disaster. It will not improve security. There will be huge wounds for a long time to come, says Norway’s prime minister.
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Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre demands a ceasefire in the war on the Gaza Strip – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
