Middle East Cassis warns of a famine in the Gaza Strip
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis warns of a famine in the Gaza Strip. His top priority is to ensure that humanitarian aid arrives immediately. As the occupying power, Israel bears responsibility for this. The Swiss Foreign Minister said this on Friday in Ticino.
23.05.2025, 21:17
23.05.2025, 21:35
SDA
Cassis called for a ceasefire and the unconditional release of the Israeli hostages by Hamas, the dominant Palestinian terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.
"And I say this very clearly," said Cassis in a statement issued on the fringes of a visit to his home canton and published on Platform X: "Humanitarian aid is not an option. It is a duty. And this duty also applies to Israel - in accordance with the Geneva Conventions." Switzerland will continue to say what needs to be said.
Violence does not solve problems, emphasized Cassis. It delays peace and exacerbates the crisis. Switzerland was stepping up its diplomatic efforts and talking to all sides. There was an urgent need to reopen a political perspective. Due to the lack of credible alternatives, the two-state solution remains the only way forward that complies with international law and can make a future possible.
The current war in the Gaza Strip, inhabited by around two million Palestinians on the coast of the Mediterranean, began with the attack by Hamas terror squads on Israeli villages on October 7, 2023.
The Palestinian attackers massacred parts of the Jewish population, raped women and kidnapped more than 250 people, some of whom they then held hostage and are still holding. According to Israeli figures, around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas massacre in Israel. According to Hamas sources, over 50,000 people died in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli attacks.
