AU, Arab League call for cessation of hostilities in Gaza Strip

ADDIS ABABA - The African Union [AU] and League of Arab States have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, following the most recent war between the Israeli Defence Forces [IDF] and the Hamas militia, who are fighting for the liberation of Palestine state.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the two bodies also asked the international community to "provide basic assistance and urgent humanitarian aid" to 2.2 million Palestinians who are struggling with a blockade installed by Israelis.

Both organizations, the statement read, expressed "grave concern over the Israeli order for more than one million Palestinians to leave their homes, contrary to international law". Consequently, they asked the United Nations and the international community to stop a "catastrophe" unfolding in front of us, before it is too late.

Furthermore, the two bodies which are influential in the United Nations Security Council, stressed: "the pressing need to avoid escalation, underscoring that an Israeli invasion would undoubtedly entail a huge number of civilian casualties, including women and children, which could lead to a genocide of unprecedented proportions".

While calling on the international community to live up to the shared principles of humanity and justice, both the Arab League and AU underscored the imperative of collective action to immediately prevent protracted aggression against the Palestinians.

"In light of the increasingly worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with no access to drinking water, electricity and the near collapse of the medical sector, both the General Secretariat of LAS and the AU Commission stress the urgent need to open a humanitarian corridor to provide basic assistance to the population of Gaza and rescue the wounded, while emphasizing that collective punishment should not be accepted."

Additionally, both organizations stressed that ultimately, a political solution based on the two-state vision is the only way to guarantee peace and security for all peoples and States in the region. The IDF has been bombarding the Gaza Strip for the last seven days after Hamas rocket attacks and there are fears that a ground operation will be launched soon.

Thousands of people from both sides have been killed with Israeli threatening to "teach" Hamas a "lifetime" lesson through ground operations that will target their hideouts. Several entities have been calling for calmness in the region which has been the center of the world's longest conflict which dates back decades.

GAROWE ONLINE