‘Unacceptable and intolerable’: International pressure mounting on Israel over Gaza

International pressure is mounting on Israel over its persisting genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip as the United Kingdom, the European Union, and China warn the occupying entity over “unacceptable” situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

On March 18, the Israeli regime broke a 42-day-long ceasefire with the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement and resumed its deadly strikes on Gaza, which has been under heavy bombardment and ground aggression by the occupation forces since October 2023.

To further exasperate the situation, and despite international outcry, Israel, for almost two months, blocked the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory, where its two million inhabitants, particularly children, struggle daily to combat starvation.

The dire situation in Gaza and the daily killing of its inhabitants by Israeli forces led British and European Union leaders on Monday to urge the occupying entity to allow humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately, slamming the current situation in the war-torn territory as “unacceptable” and “intolerable.”

“Let me separately address the question of Gaza because it is a really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation. And that’s why we are working intensely to coordinate with other leaders how we respond to this because it is intolerable, it is unacceptable, and we will continue to work in that way,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“Aid must reach civilians in need immediately and the blockade on Gaza needs to be lifted now because humanitarian aid must never be politicized,” he stressed.

Starmer made the remarks during a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in London after the trio held talks.

“On Gaza, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is unacceptable. For two months now, no humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. Aid must reach civilians in need immediately and the blockade on Gaza needs to be lifted now because humanitarian aid must never be politicized. And we are calling for resumption of the ceasefire and the immediate release of the hostages so that a permanent end of the hostilities can be finally achieved,” von der Leyen said for her part.

Costa also denounced the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “unacceptable” and “tragic”, stressing that “Israel must stop now immediately.”

He also described Gaza as a territory where “international law is being systematically violated and an entire population is being subjected to disproportionate military force.”

“There must be safe, swift and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid. The remaining hostages must be unconditionally released. And a permanent ceasefire must be reached — now. Our discussion reaffirmed our shared conviction that lasting peace and security in the Middle East can only be achieved through the implementation of a two-state solution,” the head of the European Council further said.

The developments came as Israel on Sunday claimed that it would allow a “basic” amount of aid into Gaza to prevent a “hunger crisis” from developing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said on Monday that he had decided to resume limited aid to Gaza only after his allies pressured Tel Aviv that they would not be able to continue supporting Israel’s war effort as long as “images of hunger” keep emerging from the Palestinian territory.

The United Nations, humanitarian organizations, and several European allies have already denounced Tel Aviv for blocking the entry of essential supplies—such as food, fuel, and medicine—into the war-torn territory.

Separately on Monday, China also expressed its support for a swift and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.

“We support an immediate realization of lasting ceasefire and real alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inalienable part of the Palestinian territory,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

China’s reaction came after Netanyahu, in provocative comments, said that the regime plans to “take control of all” of the Gaza Strip, and after it was revealed that the administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly working on a plan to permanently relocate up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya.

“China firmly supports the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people, believes that ‘the Palestinians governing Palestine’ is an important principle that must be upheld in the post-conflict governance of Gaza, and opposes the forced displacement of the people of Gaza. China stands ready to work with the rest of the international community to promote the de-escalation of the situation in Gaza at an early date, and make relentless effort to advance the comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question on the basis of the -so-called] two-state solution,” Mao added.

Additionally on Monday, Australian senator Mehreen Faruqi of the Greens Party also condemned government’s inaction concerning Israel’s genocidal war and blockade on Gaza, stressing that Australia too should have signed onto the statement from the UK, Canada, and France threatening sanctions against the occupying entity.

“At the very least, the Prime Minister [Anthony Albanese] could join the statement of our allies,” she said in a post on Instagram, stressing that urging Tel Aviv “to allow aid through, without backing it with real action, is meaningless.”

Faruqi also emphasized that instead of “empty statements and diplomatic cowardice”, Israel must be stopped by “sanctions” and “an end to the arms trade.”

Australia has endorsed a separate declaration, alongside 22 other nations, urging Israel to “immediately allow the full resumption of aid into Gaza.”

Food experts have already warned that the blockade risked causing famine in Gaza.