G7 foreign ministers call for facilitated departure of all foreign nationals

– G7 Foreign Ministers statement on Israel and Gaza

USA / UK – On 28 November, the foreign ministers of the G7 issued a statement on the situation in Israel and Gaza:

“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union welcome the release of some of the hostages seized on 7 October by Hamas and other terrorist organizations and the recent pause in hostilities that has allowed a surge in humanitarian assistance to reach Palestinian civilians in Gaza. We, as the G7, urge the release of all hostages immediately and unconditionally.

“We call for the facilitated departure of all foreign nationals. We emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, in accordance with international law, as it seeks to prevent a recurrence of the 7 October attacks.

“We appreciate the leadership of the United States and countries in the region, especially Qatar and Egypt, and their tireless efforts to secure this and future pauses. We support the significant efforts of the United Nations to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance during this pause.

“This arrangement is a crucial step towards bringing all remaining hostages home and addressing the full scope of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We call on all parties to build on the provisions of the deal and to ensure greater humanitarian aid continues to reach civilians in Gaza on a sustained basis. Every effort must be made to ensure humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, fuel, and medical supplies. We support the further extension of this pause and future pauses as needed to enable assistance to be scaled up, and to facilitate the release of all hostages.

“We underscore the importance of protecting civilians and compliance with international law, in particular international humanitarian law. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work with all partners in the region to prevent the conflict from escalating further. Emphasizing the importance of maritime security, we call on all parties not to threaten or interfere with lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by all vessels. We especially call on the Houthis to immediately cease attacks on civilians and threats to international shipping lanes and commercial vessels and release the M/V Galaxy Leader and its crew, illegally seized from international waters on 19 November.

“We remain committed to a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution that enables both Israelis and Palestinians to live in a just, lasting, and secure peace.”