US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Tuesday for a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, as calls for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas intensify.
The death toll in the enclave has surpassed 10,000, including over 4,000 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s key ally, the United States, while urging a pause in hostilities, has simultaneously argued that Israel has a right to respond. On Monday, Blinken stated in Turkey that Washington was working “very aggressively” to increase humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip.
I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways.
The White House reported that US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of “tactical pauses” on Monday. However, on the same day, Netanyahu pledged not to stop the war to eliminate Hamas.
France was the only G7 member to vote last month in favour of a UN alternative peace resolution demanding an immediate “humanitarian truce.” The United States voted against it, while Japan, Britain, Italy, Germany and Canada abstained.
Valerie Niquet from the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) stated any joint call by G7 leaders for a humanitarian truce would be “without binding language and in general terms.”
Another important topic will be the war in Ukraine, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba joining via video conference. Experts say Ukraine’s allies are growing fatigued of supporting military efforts against Russia, which used to be part of the now-defunct G8. World leaders are expected to take a firm stance condemning Moscow’s actions.
Analysts also believe that the G7 may soften its rhetoric on China as tentative signals of loosening tensions in Beijing’s relations with the West emerge.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Biden in San Francisco ahead of the COP28 climate conference.
Another G7 topic will be deepening ties with Central Asia, with the first step being a video conference with the region’s foreign ministers.
