Tokyo: Humanitarian aid organizations and others in Japan held a joint press conference in Tokyo on Monday to call for realizing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip by year-end.

“This simple proposal represents the strong will of citizens who pray that no more innocent people will be sacrificed,” said Yuka Kaneko, a member of the Japanese branch of the international aid group Save the Children.

Kaneko stressed that the United Nations and international law have become mere names in the face of the continuing battle between the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Israeli military in the Palestinian territory.

The U.N. Security Council resolution adopted Friday to call for the expansion of humanitarian aid to Gaza failed to include a passage demanding a halt to hostilities, Kaneko said.

“World leaders remain unable to even show a basic path toward realizing smooth delivery of aid supplies,” Kaneko also said.

Tetsuya Nakamura of CCP Japan, or the Campaign for the Children of Palestine, said that it is necessary to speed up and significantly increase supply delivery to Gaza.

“It is important to create a platform for boosting humanitarian aid by realizing a ceasefire,” Nakamura said. “We need to strengthen the international momentum further.”

Other participants in the press conference included members of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Japan, the Japanese branch of Doctors Without Borders.

JIJI Press