Israel-Gaza war
Israel has imposed a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, massing troops near the border as it calls up hundreds of thousands of reservists ahead of a ground offensive against Hamas militants in the densely populated Palestinian territory.
Hostages: Video evidence suggests that Hamas took at least 64 captives into Gaza. Among those abducted from their homes or seized from a music festival.
Americans killed: 27 American citizens have been killed, and 14 are unaccounted for, U.S. officials said Thursday. Here’s what we know about how the United States is getting involved in the Israel-Gaza war and how other foreign nationals were affected.
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
In the days since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, leaders across the world have weighed in. Many have condemned Hamas, while some have laid the blame at Israel’s door. Others have walked a fine line..
Here’s what foreign governments have said about the war.
The U.S., E.U., and Britain condemned the attacks while pledging support to Israel.
In a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Britain and the United States condemned Hamas’s attacks, calling them “acts of terrorism” that had “no justification.”
“Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities,” said President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The leaders went on to say that they recognize the “legitimate aspirations” of Palestinians but that Hamas “does not represent those aspirations.”
The European Union
also released a statement in support of Israel, adding Monday evening that it would launch a review of its support for the Palestinians but that it was not suspending payments at the moment. That walked back a statement from the E.U. commissioner saying the bloc would “immediately” suspend aid to the Palestinians.
“The objective of this review is to ensure that no E.U. funding indirectly enables any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, it called for further restraint and “condemned all attacks against civilians.” The E.U.’s Joint Council also called for the release of all hostages and for Israel to allow access to food, water and medicine. It reaffirmed its commitment to a two-state solution and asked countries in the region to engage Iran to pursue de-escalation.
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky also condemned Hamas, likening the group’s tactics to those of Russia, saying during a visit to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday that they “seek to hold to free and democratic nations as hostages, and they want power over those who seek freedom.” Zelensky also said he was recommending that allies support the Israeli people.
Countries involved in the Abraham Accords voiced mixed concerns.
The United Arab Emirates
and Bahrain, both of which normalized relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, have condemned the attacks.
The UAE, which in 2020 became the first Persian Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel in about three decades, said Sunday that Hamas’s attacks were a “serious and grave escalation” and called for de-escalation and civilian protections on both sides.
“The UAE reaffirmed that the international community must remain resolute in the face of these violent attempts to derail ongoing regional efforts aimed at dialogue, cooperation, and coexistence,” the statement said, “and must not allow nihilistic destruction to overtake a region whose people have already suffered enough war and trauma.”
Bahrain’s initial statement Saturday made no mention of Hamas and warned that “the continuation of violence will impede the efforts aiming at achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.” But on Monday, the Foreign Ministry joined the UAE in calling Hamas’s attacks an “escalation” and denounced the “reported kidnappings.”
Morocco, which has also agreed to normalize relations with Israel, was more muted in its response. It expressed “deep concern” while condemning attacks on civilians “wherever they may be.” But one of Morocco’s largest parties in Parliament called Hamas’s actions “heroic” and a “legitimate reaction to daily violations.”
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement published by the official Sudan News Agency that the violence stemmed from a decline in international interest in the Palestinian issue. Sudan signed the Abraham Accords in 2021.
“Sudan renews its support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to have their independent state,” the statement read.
Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks for months with Israel about a potential normalization agreement but is not part of the Abraham Accords, called for an immediate end to the violence. It did not explicitly denounce Hamas. “The Kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the explosion of the situation as a result of the continued occupation, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, and the repetition of systematic provocations against its sanctities,” the statement read.
Egypt and Jordan, Israel’s neighbors, urged restraint.
In a statement shared with journalists, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi said Egypt was committed to a two-state solution and prioritized national security.
Citizens and foreign governments have pressured the country to allow more people to enter Egypt through the Rafah border, but Israel has repeatedly struck the crossing. Cairo, which maintains contacts with both Israel and various Palestinian factions, has played a key role in brokering past cease-fires between Israel and Hamas.
“Egypt is not abandoning its commitment to Arab issues, especially the Palestinian issue,” Sisi said, calling for a “just and comprehensive peace” based on a two-state solution.
Jordanian leaders have been speaking frequently with countries in the region and elsewhere, according to the Foreign Ministry’s statements. The ministry called for de-escalation and protection for civilians as the violence threatens the region’s security.
Both Egypt and Jordan have had normalized relations with Israel for decades.
Iran congratulated Hamas, while Qatar said Israel was to blame for the violence.
“You really made the Islamic Ummah happy with this innovative and victorious operation,” Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted President Ebrahim Raisi as saying, using the Arabic word for the wider Muslim community.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations on Monday denied that Tehran was involved in the initial coordinated Hamas attack, insisting that the “response” was “taken solely by Palestine itself.” But it also said the attack was “unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people.”
Qatar, which has ties to Hamas, said through its Foreign Ministry that it holds Israel solely responsible for the escalation of violence “due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.”
Russia walked a fine line, stopping short of condemning Hamas.
Russia, which is aligned with Hamas ally Iran, said it was “extremely concerned” this week but Moscow stopped short of condemning Hamas, calling the fighting a “spiral of violence” while pointing fingers at the West. “The U.S. has neglected the mechanisms of settlement in the Middle East,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. Other countries, including Turkey and China, called for both sides to end violence.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to mediate between Israel and Hamas, as his Foreign Ministry condemned the civilian deaths but did not assign blame solely to either party. China called for protecting civilians and said the “way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine.”
“The international community needs to act with greater urgency, step up input into the Palestine question, facilitate the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and find a way to bring about enduring peace,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/
Pakistan adopts a careful tone on Israel, experts read between the lines
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has responded to the Israel-Hamas war with an unusually measured tone, standing out among Asia’s Muslim-majority countries and fueling speculation about the chances of Islamabad someday normalizing ties with Israel.
The Pakistani government is typically a harsh critic of Israel, with which it has no diplomatic relations and a defender of Palestinian rights. But while countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have pointedly blamed the conflict on Israeli policy, Pakistan has so far taken a softer approach.
As news broke of Hamas militants storming Israel on Saturday, interim Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar posted on X that he was “heartbroken” by the violence. “We urge restraint and protection of civilians. Enduring peace in the Middle East lies in a two-state solution with a viable, contiguous, sovereign State of Palestine.”
This was noticeably milder than, for example, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s reaction tweet on Sunday, in which he wrote: “The confiscation of land and property belonging to the Palestinian people is done relentlessly by the Zionists. As a result of this injustice, hundreds of innocent lives were sacrificed.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office issued its own cautious statement, saying: “We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the Middle East and the eruption of hostilities between Israel and Palestinians. We are concerned about the human cost of the escalating situation.” Source: asia.nikkei.com/
Will India Draw Closer to Israel?
New Delhi’s long-standing balancing act between Israel and the Palestinians faces its toughest test yet. Four days after horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel sparked a war in the region, India’s response has come in two tweets from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that condemned terrorism and expressed solidarity with Israel. New Delhi has friendly ties with both Israel and the Palestinian side, so it must be cautious in its public messaging. However its relationship with Israel has grown rapidly in recent years. The Israel-Hamas war, as suggested by Modi’s tweets, may draw the two countries even closer.
Source: foreignpolicy.com/
