CANBERRA, Friday, March 22, 2024 (WAFA) – The foreign and defense ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom have called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" in the Gaza Strip at the conclusion of a meeting in Adelaide, South Australia.

In a joint statement, the ministers emphasized the "necessity" of putting an immediate end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip "to allow for the transfer of [humanitarian] aid".

The United Kingdom is a member of the United Nations Security Council, which will vote today on a US draft resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip as part of an agreement on prisoners.

The text emphasizes the "urgent and permanent need for a ceasefire to protect civilians on both sides and allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian aid."

The United States has used its veto power against several Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the past. However, faced with staggering human losses and the risk of famine, Washington has now redoubled its efforts to reach a ceasefire and thus avoid a large-scale ground assault on Rafah.

The United States has been pressuring Israel for weeks to refrain from launching a broad ground assault on Rafah, which would have catastrophic consequences in the densely populated city, where the population has risen to one and a half million people, most of whom are displaced.

M.N