The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations agreed Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip must be improved, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said, amid the raging war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
During phone talks, the G7 ministers firmly condemned Hamas for its "terrorist attack" on Israel earlier this month while pledging to keep working together, Kamikawa told reporters in Tokyo.
Kamikawa also said she explained to her G7 peers that Japan, this year's rotating G7 chair, will provide $10 million in aid for civilians in Gaza, a Palestinian enclave effectively ruled by Hamas, to deal with the humanitarian crisis there.
"Taking all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens, Japan will continue to proactively tackle" the related issues so that the situation in the Middle East will calm down as soon as possible, she added.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has been escalating since a surprise attack by the Islamist group on Oct. 7 triggered large-scale Israeli retaliation. The war has already claimed more than 4,000 lives, many of them civilians.
Days after the Hamas assault, five G7 members -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy -- issued a joint statement expressing "steadfast and united support" for Israel and "unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism."
The G7 also includes Canada, Japan and the European Union.
Japan, whose crude oil imports are highly dependent on the Middle East, has traditionally maintained friendly ties with many nations and areas in the region.
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