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British media: Israel's finance minister said "it is reasonable and moral to let 2 million Gazans starve to death", Australia, Britain and other countries condemned and called for a ceasefire

Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich recently made a statement that "it might be reasonable and moral to let 2 million Gazans starve to death", which has attracted widespread attention. According to the British "Guardian", Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong issued a statement on the 9th saying,Australia joined Britain, Germany and France in condemning Smotrich's remarks and reiterated its call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong profile picture from foreign media

According to reports, Penny Wong released a statement on social media platform X on the 9th saying, "Deliberately starving civilians is a war crime. There is no justification for such behavior." She said, "Australia, along with international partners such as the United Kingdom, Germany and France, condemns the remarks made by Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich." In addition, Penny Wong once again called on all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. She said, "Now more than ever, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is needed to protect civilians, release hostages and ensure smooth aid (channels)."

According to reports, Australian Shadow Foreign Minister Birmingham called Smotrich's remarks "disgusting". He said, "We have always called for respect for international law and humanitarian needs."

The report mentioned that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also condemned Smotrich's remarks this week. He posted on the social media platform X that "Minister Smotrich's remarks make no sense and we expect the Israeli government to retract and condemn them." German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert called Smotrich's remarks "unacceptable and shocking", while France said Israel "has an obligation to provide assistance to Gazans under international humanitarian law."

According to comprehensive reports from AFP, The Guardian and other media on August 5, Smotrich attended an event and talked about whether humanitarian aid should be allowed to arrive in the Gaza Strip. He said at the time that Israel allowed aid to arrive in Gaza because it had "no choice". "Given the current global reality, we cannot control the war. No one will allow us to let 2 million civilians starve to death, although it may be reasonable and moral to do so before our hostages are released."

The EU condemned Smotrich's remarks as "shameful", saying that "deliberately starving civilians is a war crime". The US said it was "shocked" by these remarks. According to the Times of Israel on the 8th, a US State Department spokesman said in a statement to the media, "We are shocked by these remarks and reiterate that such remarks are harmful and disturbing." The report said that the statement also stated that US President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken had mentioned more than once that "the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip needs to be ended and obstacles to the delivery of aid supplies need to be removed".

According to CCTV News, on August 9 local time, Jeremy Lawrence, spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was shocked and appalled by the remarks made by Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich. Lawrence said that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned these hate speeches against innocent civilians in the strongest terms. Starving civilians to death as a means of war is a war crime, and collective punishment of the Palestinian people is also a war crime. Such direct and public statements have the potential to incite other atrocities. Such remarks, especially those made by government officials, must be stopped immediately and investigated. If found to constitute a crime, they must be prosecuted and punished.

Source: Huanqiu.com