The European Union, Britain and Japan on Tuesday called for urgent action to stop “famine” in the Gaza Strip.

“The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes,” a joint statement signed by the EU’s top diplomat and foreign ministers from 24 countries, including Canada and Australia. said. “Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation.”

The ministers and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also demanded Israel “provide authorization for all international NGO aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating.”

Seventeen European Union countries signed the statement, including France and the Netherlands, as well as countries such as Spain and Ireland that are more stridently critical of Israel.

Notably absent was Germany, Israel’s staunch supporter in the EU, despite its drastic move last week to suspend the export to Israel of military equipment that could be used in Gaza.

The move, which came in response to Israel’s decision to take over Gaza City, has sparked controversy in Germany, where top politicians have cast support for the Jewish state as a form of atonement for the Holocaust.

The EU struck a deal with Israel last month to increase aid access to Gaza, but senior officials have said the agreement has not been implemented fully.

UN-mandated experts have warned that Gaza is slipping into famine, while international organizations have for months accused Israel of restricting aid distribution in Gaza.

Israel has denied that there is starvation in Gaza, blamed delays in aid deliveries on the UN and accused Hamas of systematically looting aid entering Gaza since the war there was sparked by the terror group’s onslaught of October 7, 2023.