By Leila Nezirevic
LONDON (AA) – Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir on Tuesday called on Israel to comply with International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders, demanding a cease-fire amid “serious civilian casualties” in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
Gylfadottir told Anadolu that she is “horrified by reports of serious civilian casualties in Rafah. These people had nowhere to go.”
“We call for compliance with ICJ orders, the release of all hostages, and for all parties to return to negotiations immediately. We need a cease-fire now.
“Those responsible for the cycle of revenge and violence also have the power to seek peace and stability,” she said.
The minister’s comments come as Israel continues its assault on Rafah, despite international condemnation.
At least 29 Palestinians have been killed on Tuesday in two Israeli attacks which targeted Tal al-Sultan displacement camp in western Rafah when a strike hit three tents, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
On Sunday, Israel launched an airstrike on a camp for displaced people in Rafah that killed at least 45 people, mostly women and children.
Israeli tanks have been seen in central Rafah for the first time signalling a new phase of its brutal offensive in which more than 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 80,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza.
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Norway, Spain, and Ireland formally recognized Palestine as a state on Tuesday, in what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described as a "historical decision."