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Global demands to extend Gaza truce becoming louder

Monday, 27 November 2023 2:56 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 27 November 2023 3:45 PM ]

Palestinians move southward as trucks carrying aid and fuel head towards northern Gaza during a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. (File photo by Reuters)

The global demands are becoming louder and louder to extend the 4-day truce between the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

November 27 was the final day of the temporary ceasefire agreement.

The European Union has urged a long-lasting truce in the besieged Gaza Strip, while working for a political solution.

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister says Qatar, Egypt, the United States, and Spain are working to extend the truce. Riyad al-Maliki said the current deal could be extended for “one, two, three days,” but no one knew for how long.

NATO has also called for an extension of the ceasefire to allow in further relief aid and the release of more captives. In a news conference in Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for an extension to the humanitarian pause. “I welcome that the agreement between Hamas and Israel has led to the release of hostages and the delivery of more humanitarian aid.”

“I call for an extension of the pause. This would allow for much-needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more hostages.”

Stoltenberg said the “suffering we have seen underlines the need for a lasting political solution.”

Palestinian killed in Israeli attack in Gaza despite truce deal

Israel is said to have violated the truce deal with Hamas by attacking a refugee camp in central Gaza.

Speaking at a forum in Barcelona on Monday, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the truce. “A four-day truce is an important first step in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but much more is needed to find a way out of the crisis.”

“The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long-lasting while working for a political solution.”

On Sunday, Borrell had demanded implementation of a UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian pauses in Gaza. “The decisions of the Security Council are not just words... They have to be implemented.”

Borrell has also denounced the Israeli regime’s decision to provide funds for new settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. “This is not self-defense and will not make Israel safer. The settlements are grave IHL breach, and they are Israel’s greatest security liability,” he wrote on X.

Hamas has already said it wants the ceasefire to be extended if the regime makes serious efforts to release more Palestinian prisoners. Israel claims it is open to an extension if more captives are released.

In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said his country demands an end to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza. During his weekly news briefing, Kan'ani said the Islamic Republic seeks a lasting and stable truce.

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