Renowned human rights body Amnesty International has urged the European Union leaders to call for an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians in Palestine’s Gaza.
In a statement ahead of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Monday, November 13, Amnesty International held that as the expanding humanitarian catastrophe unfolds in Gaza, there is an urgent need to call for a cease-fire by all parties to the conflict.
Remarkably, Amnesty International’s petition demanding a ceasefire to end civilian suffering was backed by more than one million signatures.
Director of Amnesty’s European Institutions Office Eve Geddie said in the statement, “While the EU has largely failed to reach a consensus position that is in line with international law or to outright call for a ceasefire, some member states, including Ireland, Belgium and Spain have called for a ceasefire.”
“They criticized human rights violations by Israel and Hamas and other armed groups, and respected people’s right to peacefully protest,” stated Eve.
The group further said that some states, including Austria, Czechia and Germany, have been blocking the EU from collectively calling for a ceasefire or calling out violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli security forces.
Criticizing the stance of the bloc, Eve noted that the EU, which claims to be a champion of human rights and international law, is facing a credibility crisis in the eyes of people around the world.
Israel must release all arbitrarily detained Palestinians
According to estimates released by prisoners’ affairs groups, there are more than 7,000 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.
Amnesty International had found evidence of a spike in arbitrary arrests by Israeli authorities who subjected many Palestinian prisoners to torture. “Israel must release all arbitrarily detained Palestinians,” held the group.
Furthermore, demanding the release of all civilian hostages held by Hamas and other armed groups, Amnesty International stressed the need to urgently allow access to the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit those detained.
Ready to release 50 hostages in Gaza, says Hamas
On Tuesday, November 14, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas said that it had informed mediators of its readiness to release 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a five-day cease-fire.
As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 39th day, at least 11,200 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7700 children, and over 28,200 wounded, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
In addition to that, thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.
On the other hand, the Israeli death toll according to Israeli figures suggests that their military operations came in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed in Israel and about 240 hostages were taken,
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