G7 nations urge ‘urgent action’ to help civilians trapped in Gaza, including pauses in the fighting

By MATTHEW LEE, FOSTER KLUG and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies have called for “urgent action” to help civilians trapped in an increasingly dire situation in Gaza, including pauses in the fighting to allow aid in and people out, in announcing a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war. In a statement following two days of intensive talks in Tokyo, the nations sought to balance the need to help Palestinians in the besieged enclave with unequivocal criticism of Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack and support for Israel’s right to self-defense. But the statement adds to pressure on Israel, which previously resisted U.S. calls for a “humanitarian pause.”