Palestinians demand the entry of humanitarian aid on July 20, 2025, in Gaza City. Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90

Some 25 countries from around the world issued a joint condemnation on Monday of the Israeli government’s aid restrictions and evacuation plan in Gaza amid the ongoing war with Hamas.

The coalition – including France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland, and New Zealand – also called for an immediate end to the war, which began when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, massacring 1,200 people and kidnapping 251 others.

The vast majority of those killed in the Oct. 7 invasion were civilians, including children, women, and elderly Holocaust survivors.

The international coalition of countries argued that the civilian toll in Gaza has “reached new depths.”

“We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” the countries said in a joint statement. The countries jointly declared their support for the American and Arab mediation efforts.

“Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this.”

The international coalition of countries blasted the Israeli-backed humanitarian Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) as “dangerous” and claimed that it strips Gazan residents of “human dignity.”

“We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,” the countries said in the joint statement.

“The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable,” the statement continued, calling on the Israeli government to “comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.”

The 25 countries also demanded that Jerusalem “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.”

The United Nations claims that some 875 people have been killed while trying to receive food at the Israeli- and American-backed aid distribution points in Gaza.

While there is broad agreement that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has worsened, the international coalition failed to address the fact that Hamas has consistently used civilians as human shields and actively sought to disrupt Israeli and American aid efforts.

Multiple Gazans have testified that Hamas gunmen killed civilians who approached Israeli-designated aid distribution points. Nevertheless, much of the international community continues to place primary blame on Israel for the civilian deaths in Gaza.

The GHF reported in June that Hamas terrorists attacked a Gazan bus, killing 5 civilian workers.

Addressing the issue of the remaining Israeli hostages, the international coalition demanded from Hamas “their immediate and unconditional release,” adding that a truce “offers the best hope of bringing them home.”

The coalition also condemned Israel’s proposals for relocating Palestinians to what has been referred to as a “humanitarian city,” rejecting the concept outright.

Any efforts to redraw Gaza’s demographic map would constitute a breach of legal norms they warned, claiming that “Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.” The purpose of Israel’s relocation plan is to minimize civilian casualties and prevent Hamas terrorists from hiding behind Gazan civilians.

The countries also blasted the Israeli plan to relocate Gazans to what has been termed “humanitarian city,” claiming that such measure constitutes an effort to change Gaza’s demography on the ground.

“Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law,” the countries stated.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to the international criticism by arguing that the condemnation was misdirected and detached from the reality on the ground in Gaza.

“Israel rejects the joint statement published by a group of countries, as it is disconnected from reality and sends the wrong message to Hamas,” the foreign ministry in Jerusalem stated.

The ministry urged the international community to hold Hamas accountable for the war it started and the human suffering on both sides of the conflict.

“Instead of agreeing to a ceasefire, Hamas is busy running a campaign to spread lies about Israel. At the same time, Hamas is deliberately acting to increase friction and harm to civilians who come to receive humanitarian aid,” the Israeli foreign ministry concluded.

Here are the latest updates on Day 658 of the war:

– One person was killed following an Israeli drone strike in the southern Lebanon village of Baraashit, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

– An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies by Hamas in Gaza, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

– PM Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Rubio led a chorus of swift and harsh criticism of French President Macron’s announcement on Thursday that his country plans to recognize the State of Palestine in September.

– The Representative Council of French Jews issued a statement following French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognize a Palestinian State in September, saying that “the announcement without preconditions is a moral mistake, a diplomatic error and a political danger.”

– Israel’s State Prosecutor’s Office has filed an indictment with the Haifa District Court against Ahmad Diab, a 36-year-old resident of Tamra, for transferring funds to the Islamic Jihad under the guise of donations for Gaza children.

– 50 Israelis entered the West Bank city of Nablus overnight illegally, and were handed over to Israeli authorities by the Palestinian security forces after complaints were received that they had been throwing stones at homes, the IDF said.

– Israel’s President Herzog took to X on Friday, saying that French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France would recognize a Palestinian State in September, “will not advance peace in the Middle East and will not help defeat the threat of terror.”

– Every effort must be made to safeguard innocent life and end the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza, the Australian PM Albanese said, describing the situation as a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

– Germany is not planning to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make “long-overdue progress” toward a two-state solution, a German gov’t spokesperson said.

– The Israeli army and the Shin Bet security agency have killed in Gaza Amjad Muhammad Hassan Sha’er, identified by the IDF as Hamas’ chief of counterintelligence, according to a statement from the army’s Spokesperson’s Unit.

– Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs is in Paris on Thursday ahead of nuclear talks between European powers and Iran on Friday in Istanbul, said four sources, including a source close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Canada on Thursday condemned the Israeli government for failing to prevent what Prime Minister Mark Carney called a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Carney also accused Israel of violating international law over the blocking of Canadian-funded aid delivery to civilians in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

“Canada calls on all sides to negotiate an immediate ceasefire in good faith. We reiterate our calls for Hamas to immediately release all the hostages, and for the Israeli government to respect the territorial integrity of the West Bank and Gaza,” Carney said on X.