Denmark repeats call for humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza

By Anadolu staff

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) – Denmark on Friday reiterated its call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in view of the escalating catastrophic situation there.

Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said on X that he is meeting his counterparts in Oslo to discuss the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, adding that there is a need to deliver quick and unhindered humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the Middle East, the Nordic region and Benelux countries are in Oslo for a high-level meeting on Gaza.

The high-level meeting has been organized in response to a request from the Saudi foreign minister, who heads a ministerial committee, which was appointed by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh on Nov. 11, according to a statement issued by Norway’s Foreign Ministry.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has also said there is an “urgent need to stop the war and bring to an end the enormous suffering in Gaza."

“I look forward to bringing these countries together for an open and frank discussion about the war in Gaza. While the countries that will be taking part in the meeting are affected to varying degrees, they all share a deep concern about the people of Gaza,” the statement said.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege, and mounted a ground offensive in the wake of a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 18,787 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 51,000 injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to Gaza’s health authorities.