‘Human suffering in Gaza unacceptable’: Canada, New Zealand, Australia call for urgent ceasefire

Flares dropped by Israeli forces light up the sky of central Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Pic/AFP

Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement on Friday on the need for an "urgent ceasefire" in Gaza and the risk of an expanded conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, news agency AP reported.

"The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue," the statement from the Prime Ministers of the three countries said.

The heads of the governments of the three countries also stated that Palestinian civilians cannot be paying of the war against Hamas. "Israel must listen to the concerns of the international community. The protection of civilians is paramount and a requirement under international humanitarian law. Palestinian civilians cannot be paying of the war against Hamas. It must end," the statement said.

The prime ministers also condemned Iran's mid-April attack on Israel and said they were "gravely concerned" about the prospect of further escalation across the region. The three leaders called on Iran to refrain from "further destabilising actions" in the Middle East and demanded that Tehran its affiliated groups, including Hezbollah, cease their attacks.

Shortly after Hamas' attack on southern Israel last year on October 7, Hezbollah began firing rockets on Israel. The exchange of fire and airstrikes, which has been limited to a few kilometers on each side of the border, has displaced tens of thousands of people in both countries.

West Bank Hamas leader dies in Israeli custody

A Hamas leader in West Bank died in Israeli custody on Thursday evening after his health deteriorated, a Palestinian prisoners' rights group said.

Sixty-three-year-old Sheikh Mustafa Abu Arra was arrested in October after the Israel-Hamas war following the October 7 attack. He was recently transferred from Ramon Prison to Soroka hospital where he died, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said.

The rights group alleged that Ara was subjected to torture and starvation during his detention, and did not receive adequate medical treatment. Israel's prison authorities have not commented on the circumstances of Ara's death.

Ara was arrested under ‘administrative detention' whereby detainees can be held indefinitely for security reasons without trial and charge. Rights groups and recently released Palestinian detainees alleged that conditions in Israeli-run prisons have deteriorated since the war broke out.

Since the early 1990s, Ara was arrested several times and spent roughly 12 years in Israeli-run prisons, the prisoners group and Hamas said.

(With AP inputs)