By Athena Papakosta

Some of Israel’s closest allies in Europe have begun to press for a ceasefire in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.. In their statements they choose to highlight the devastating consequences for the civilian population of the Palestinian enclave as well as the growing international concern about what is to come.

The moment in time coincides with today’s new visit by the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, in Israel, who in turn is expected to exert pressure on the Israeli leadership in order to decide to end the war and choose a different strategy for dealing with Hamas, which the US and the EU also characterize as a terrorist organization.

The difference between the European allies and Washington is that both sides may have repeatedly expressed their concerns about the exorbitantly high civilian casualties but also for the mass displacement of nearly 90% of the total population of the Gaza Strip however, the United States continues to provide Israel with vital military and diplomatic support to Israel.

The new foreign secretary of the United Kingdom – and an old acquaintance of the international community as he was the country’s prime minister – David Cameron co-signed an article with his German counterpart, Analena Burbock, in which they call for a cessation of hostilities as, as they note, “too many civilians have killed” to add that “the Israeli government should do more to adequately separate terrorists and civilians, ensuring that its military operation is (only) aimed at the leadership and militants of Hamas.”

As they point out, “Israel will not win the war if with its operations it destroys the prospect of peaceful coexistence with the Palestinian people” and they add that “the truce should take place as soon as possible” and be “sustainable”.

At the same time, from Tel Aviv, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Catherine Colonnade, during a joint press conference with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, called for an immediate and sustainable truce underlining that in this way it will be allowed “the release of hostages, the access and delivery of more humanitarian aid” but also “the beginning of a political solution”.

It is worth underlining that the United Kingdom has repeatedly called for humanitarian ceasefires, however, last week it abstained from the relevant vote in the UN General Assembly calling for an immediate ceasefire. For their part, France and Germany supported the resolution at the United Nations while, already at the beginning of November, the president of France, Emmanuel Macronhad emphasized that Israel cannot fight terrorism by killing civilians.

In addition to the pressure outside Israel’s borders, the Israeli leadership is faced with pressure inside the country that has been rekindled after the announcement – an admission by the Israeli armed forces that they accidentally killed three hostages, identifying them “mistakenly as a threat”.

For his part, the prime minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu makes it clear that Israel’s military operation will continue stressing that “only the maintenance of military pressure will allow the release of all hostages.”

To this day, Israel’s airstrikes and ground operations have flattened most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, driving the civilian population to the southern part, while the dead now exceed 18,700.

The humanitarian situation remains dramatic. Yesterday, Israel opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing, however, the UN warns of the dangers involved. The population in the Palestinian enclave has been driven to the brink of destitution with hunger and desperation threatening public order. And the international community is still waiting for the bloodshed to end.