2LT Local News

A chorus of condemnation echoed across the international community on Monday as Britain and more than 20 other countries—including some of Israel’s closest allies—called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, denouncing Israel’s controversial aid delivery model after hundreds of Palestinians were killed near food distribution points.

In a joint statement, foreign ministers from France, Italy, Japan, Australia, Canada, Denmark and others criticized what they described as the “drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians.” The statement cited the deaths of more than 800 Palestinians who were reportedly killed while seeking humanitarian assistance, the majority of them near distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—a US- and Israeli-backed body that has largely taken over aid operations from a UN-led system.

“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” the joint statement read.

The sharp rebuke was particularly striking given that several of the signatories are traditional allies of Israel and close partners of the United States, which has strongly supported and financed Israel’s military campaign since it began in October 2023 in response to a deadly Hamas-led assault that left 1,138 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken.

Since then, more than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, as Israeli forces continue their offensive, and well over 100,000 have suffered injuries, in most cases life-changing injuries. Large swathes of the Gaza Strip lie in ruins, and severe restrictions on food and essential supplies have deepened the humanitarian crisis.

The GHF, which uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to deliver supplies, operates outside the traditional United Nations framework. Israel has accused the UN-led aid system of allowing Hamas to loot convoys—an allegation Hamas denies. The United Nations, in turn, has condemned the GHF model as unsafe and in violation of impartial humanitarian standards, a charge GHF rejects.

Amid the growing criticism, King Philippe of Belgium delivered a rare and blunt condemnation of the situation in Gaza during a speech on the eve of Belgium’s national day. Breaking with royal convention, Philippe called the humanitarian crisis a “disgrace to all of humanity.”

“I add my voice to all those who denounce the serious humanitarian abuses in Gaza, where innocent people are dying of hunger and being killed by bombs while trapped in their enclaves,” he said from his palace in Brussels. “The current situation has gone on for far too long. It is a disgrace to all of humanity. We support the call by the United Nations Secretary-General to immediately end this unbearable crisis.”

Although the Belgian monarch holds no political power, his unusually forceful remarks stood in contrast to the more cautious stance of the country’s federal government.

Adding to the international tensions, Belgium’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were arrested and questioned by Belgian authorities following a complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Brussels-based legal group focused on pursuing war crimes charges against Israeli military personnel. The soldiers are being investigated over alleged war crimes, though no formal charges have been announced.

Israel continues to deny allegations of abuse and insists its supply restrictions are necessary to prevent aid from being seized by militant groups.

As humanitarian conditions worsen and political pressure mounts, the joint statement from over 20 nations represents a significant escalation in international calls for accountability, ceasefire, and a reassessment of how aid is delivered in one of the world’s most devastated war zones.