Japanese parliament calls for cease-fire in Gaza

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Japanese parliament Thursday adopted a resolution, calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Palestinian besieged enclave of Gaza.

Lawmakers in the lower house of the parliament, locally known as Diet, also urged the government to make “extraordinary diplomatic efforts” with other nations to achieve the cease-fire and release of hostages, Nikkei News reported.

Opposing the Israeli military operations in Rafah city, the resolution said the humanitarian situation was “critical” in Gaza.

Japan has witnessed intermitted protests by civil society groups as well as student community, pressing Tokyo to divest from Israel.

At least 30 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll to 37,232 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the battered enclave said on Thursday.

A ministry statement added that some 85,037 other people have been injured in the onslaught.

“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.