‘Immediate stop of combat’ in Gaza is demanded by the UK and Australia

An “immediate cessation of fighting” in Gaza was demanded by Britain and Australia on Friday, as international pressure mounted on Israel to abandon its planned ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah.

The allies emphasized the “urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released” in a statement after a meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom in Adelaide.

Shortly before the US was supposed to present a resolution to the UN Security Council emphasizing the need of “an immediate ceasefire,” the call was placed.

For some months, Washington has been resisting requests for an instant ceasefire in an effort to protect Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, from Israeli assaults that it believes are retaliatory.

A UN resolution of this kind would put pressure on Israel to reduce the intensity of its five-month-old war in Gaza, which has resulted in around 32,000 deaths, according to the health ministry in the area controlled by Hamas.

In an effort to drive away the rest of the Hamas troops responsible for the horrific assaults into Israel on October 7 that claimed the lives of roughly 1,160 people, the most of them civilians, Israel has threatened to further up its attack by entering Rafah.

(L-R) On March 22, 2024, in Adelaide, South Australia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles of Australia, Foreign Secretary David Cameron of Britain, and Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps of Britain address the media.
Families of captives in Gaza are becoming more hopeless as the Ramadan cease-fire deadline approaches.
The fact that London has demanded a “immediate cessation of fighting” suggests that Britain is beginning to worry about the consequences of what Israel refers to as Operation Swords of Iron.

A halt was required, according to Britain and Australia, in order to “allow aid to flow and hostages to be released as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire.”

Along with the US, China, France, Russia, and the UK, the UN Security Council members all have the power to veto decisions.

In addition, the foreign and defense ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom denounced Russia’s “full-scale, illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine” and called for its troops to leave the country.

“Ministers called on all those with close relationships with Russia, particularly China, to refrain from helping Russia to continue its war in any way and convince Russia to end its illegal war,” stated the statement.