Iran, Switzerland in Pursuit of Lasting Ceasefire in Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The foreign ministers of Iran and Switzerland weighed plans to provide humanitarian aid supplies for Palestinians and ensure a permanent truce in the Gaza Strip after weeks of relentless Israeli strikes.
In a telephone conversation on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis talked about the latest developments in Palestine and a ceasefire in Gaza after more than six weeks of Israeli onslaught on the besieged enclave.
Pointing to a meeting that the UN Security Council is going to hold at the level of foreign ministers on Wednesday, Amirabdollahian said a permanent cessation of attacks against Gaza and the West Bank, the removal of the humanitarian blockade on Gaza, sending humanitarian aids including medicine, food and fuel into the territory, and preventing the forced displacement of residents of Gaza and the West Bank are the main priorities.
He stressed that the international community unanimously seeks to achieve those goals.
For his part, the Swiss diplomat voiced concern about the current situation in Palestine and the occupied territories, saying it is important that all prisoners be released, civilians be protected, humanitarian aid be sent into Gaza and an escalation of the conflict be prevented, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website reported.
Cassis also referred to his country’s consultations in order to protect civilian lives, respect humanitarian law and push for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, expressing hope that the current ceasefire will be extended.
More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7.
A ceasefire in Gaza that came into effect last week has been extended for another two days.