Dutch, Israeli prime ministers discuss humanitarian situation in Gaza

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Sunday that he discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the phone with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

Noting that the whole world is watching Gaza in light of the attacks by Israeli forces, Rutte said on X: “I have emphasized the need to urgently allow dramatically more aid for the innocent people of Gaza.”

“They now need water, food, fuel and medical help,” he said, adding “this is also necessary for the world to continue supporting Israel.”

“The best way to allow large-scale support is humanitarian pauses,” Rutte stressed, noting “we also discussed the possibility of providing Gaza with humanitarian supplies by sea from Cyprus.”

“Restraint in military action is necessary to prevent regional escalation and as many innocent civilian deaths as possible.

“This does not affect the right to self-defense, but Israel is also obliged to demonstrate that it is acting proportionately. Israel must restore deterrence against terrorist organizations such as Hamas,” he said.

“We also spoke about the hostages, who have been held by the terrorist organization Hamas for weeks,” he pointed out, adding “they must be released as soon as possible and reunited with their loved ones.”

Rutte said they also touched on the foreigners who are stuck in the area and what needs to be done so they can leave the area safely.

“Finally, we discussed the perspective for the Palestinians; our own safe state next to a safe Israel.”

“Especially during this dark period, we must try to seize the opportunity to restart the conversation about this.”

Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Oct. 7, when the Palestinian group Hamas carried out a cross-border attack.

The number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza has risen to 8,005, including 3,342 children, 2,062 women, and 460 elderly people, according to the Health Ministry.

More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the conflict.

Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari on announced Saturday that Israeli forces were expanding their operations and moving to the "next phase of our war against Hamas," which includes ground operations.

Gaza's 2.3 million residents are meanwhile grappling with shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine due to Israel’s blockade of the enclave.