The G7 foreign ministers announced their support for "humanitarian pauses" in Israel's war in Gaza but declined to call for a complete ceasefire after they met in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The leaders expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law following the unprecedented Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that left roughly 1,400 people dead, the majority of whom were civilians.
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"We stress the need for urgent action to address the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. All parties must allow unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel, and shelter, and access for humanitarian workers. We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement, and the release of hostages," their statement said. "We underscore the importance of protecting civilians and compliance with international law, in particular international humanitarian law."
Israel's war against Hamas, the terrorist organization and de facto government of Gaza that carried out last month's attacks, has not spared innocent Palestinian civilians. The initial stages of its response were primarily airstrikes, which left significant damage to Gaza's infrastructure and a death toll in the thousands. Israeli forces have since moved into Gaza and effectively split the enclave in half, with most of their intended operations to be carried out in the northern half.
U.S. officials acknowledged this week that thousands of civilians have been killed in Gaza as Israel attempts to remove Hamas from power and strip it of its military capabilities. Given the death toll and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave, the Biden administration has expressed its support for temporary pauses in the fighting to provide aid to civilians and allow them to evacuate while pushing Israel to do more to avoid civilian casualties.
Administration officials have refrained from calling for a complete ceasefire, arguing it would allow Hamas time to plan more attacks, which the group's leaders have said they intend to do. The difference between a ceasefire and a humanitarian pause is the implication that the former means ending the war altogether while the latter represents a temporary pause of the war.
"All of us want to end this conflict as soon as possible and, meanwhile, to minimize civilian suffering," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Japan. "But as I discussed with my G7 colleagues, those calling for an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how to address the unacceptable result it would likely bring about: Hamas left in place, with more than 200 hostages, with the capacity and stated intent to repeat Oct. 7 — again and again and again."
Thousands of Hamas fighters broke through the Israeli border on Oct. 7 and proceeded to slaughter roughly 260 people at an outdoor concert, and many of the remaining victims were murdered in their homes in the communities near the Gaza border. Many of the victims showed signs of being tortured and suffering sexual violence, and some bodies were burned beyond recognition.
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Hamas has continued firing thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel. The terrorist group has a significant web of tunnels underneath Gaza's most densely populated areas and has embedded itself into the civilian population. The tunnels will be a significant factor in how Israel is conducting its ground invasion.
"Hamas cynically, monstrously embeds itself in the midst of civilians; puts its fighters, its commanders, its weapons, its ammunition, command and control in residential buildings, under schools and in schools, under hospitals and in hospitals, under mosques and in mosques — monstrous," Blinken said last weekend.