Denmark urges 'humanitarian pause' in Gaza

By Anadolu staff

COPENHAGEN (AA) – Denmark on Wednesday urged a humanitarian pause so that more emergency aid can be delivered to the suffering civilian population in the Gaza Strip, including women and children, amid the ongoing attacks by Israel.

“There needs to be a humanitarian break in the hostilities … so that we can get more emergency aid to the suffering civilian population,” Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told local broadcaster DR.

Rasmussen said that Denmark voted yes in the recently passed United Nations General Assembly resolution “because the humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic,” further adding: “The term ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ emphasizes the humanitarian focus and is thus not a permanent ceasefire.”

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. There were 153 votes in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions.

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, in a statement, urged an international effort for a "sustainable cease-fire" in the Gaza Strip conflict and voiced alarm about the diminishing safe spaces for civilians in the Palestinian enclave amid ongoing Israeli attacks.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,412 Palestinians have been killed and 50,100 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The official Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while around 139 hostages remain in captivity, according to official figures.