Foreign ministers in Germany, France and the United Kingdom demanded an immediate return to the Gaza Strip on Friday.
“The Israeli strike in Gaza marks a huge step for the people of Gaza, hostages, their families and the entire region,” a joint statement published on the British government website said.
“We are shocked by civilian casualties and urgently call for an immediate return to the ceasefire.”
The joint statement was due to Israeli Defense Minister Katz threatening to occupy more areas of the Gaza Strip in order to put greater pressure on the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas.
The longer Hamas refuses to release the hostages, Katz said Friday that it will lose to Israel’s more territory, according to his office. It said he had directed the army to call on local residents to escape in this situation.
Despite some Israeli media reports, no details on how to seize the territory have been provided.
Israel launched a new massive air strike on Gaza on Tuesday, destroying a fragile ceasefire since January.
The recovery of Israel’s air strikes comes two months after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement, which included the release of hostages committed on October 7, 2023 in exchange for the attacks by Palestinian prisoners.
“We call on all parties to re-engage through negotiations to ensure that the ceasefire is fully implemented and permanent,” the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom said in their joint statement.
“This must include Hamas’ release of hostages they are cruelly detained and continue to refuse to release.”
