PEACE activists, human rights organisations and aid agencies issued a solidarity statement in support of today’s Global Day of Action for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The United Nations security council is set to take another vote tonight on an immediate ceasefire to the brutal Israeli assault sparked by Hamas’s deadly attack within Israel on October 7.

More than 800 organisations from 93 countries — including Save the Children, Amnesty International, Islamic Relief, Oxfam and War on Want  — joined today’s Global Day of Action.

Gaza continues to be the deadliest place for civilians in the world, with more than 18,000 people, including over 10,000 children, killed in the last two months. 

The scale of the humanitarian catastrophe is worsening, and the organisations insist that only a permanent and lasting ceasefire can stop the further loss of civilian life and ensure sufficient humanitarian aid reaches those in need.  

Last week, 153 nations voted at the United Nations general assembly for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages.

The vote followed the scuppering of a resolution at the UN security council calling for a ceasefire when the United States vetoed it.

All other nations on the 15-member body voted for the resolution except Britain, which abstained. 

But the assembly resolution is non-binding; attacks by Israelis against the Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank have intensified.

Neil Sammonds, senior campaigner at War on Want, one of the signatories to the statement, said: “People are demonstrating their overwhelming demand for a permanent ceasefire, now. It’s bloody obvious why: it’s the absolute minimum required and it’s already terribly overdue.

“Yet the British government and Labour leadership continue to be outliers, giving Israel carte blanche. Not in our name — in theirs, which one day should be on charge sheets for complicity in war crimes.”

Veteran peace campaigner and MP for Islington North Jeremy Corbyn told the Morning Star: “Palestinians are being killed in their thousands. Those who have escaped bombardment are facing starvation, disease and dehydration. 

“It is incomprehensible that we are still debating whether we want to stop the killing of human beings. More and more people are waking up to the realisation that this carnage and inhumanity cannot possibly go on any longer. We need an immediate and permanent ceasefire now.”

Fiona Edwards of No Cold War Britain said: “Israel has killed over 10,000 Palestinian children in 10 weeks. That’s more than 1,000 children a week or around 140 children a day since October 7. Israel’s daily massacres of children must be stopped.

“It is unconscionable that the US administration and the British government are defying global opinion and refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire.”

The statement from the organisations points to the warning from the UN that the population of Gaza, particularly young children, “will soon start dying of severe dehydration.”

The organisations say: “Many of those who relocated from northern Gaza to the south after the relocation order by the Israeli army were reportedly bombed as they attempted to flee or once they arrived in southern Gaza.

“The events of the last week have led us to the precipice of a humanitarian catastrophe and the world can no longer wait to act.”

The signatories are calling on “all heads of state, the UN security council, and actors on the ground, to prioritise the preservation of human life above all else.”

The security council is set to take a vote today on another ceasefire resolution.

The head of the Palestinian Mission to Britain earlier told the BBC’s Today programme that the “solution is with the security council.”

Ambassador Husam Zomlot said that Israel has “demolished” the rules of war — “the world should enforce these rules.

“We must stop this normalisation of these horrific scenes to which we said ‘never again’ after the horrors of World War II.”

When asked about Hamas, Mr Zomlot reiterated a point he has made on a number of occasions: “We reject the targeting of civilians from any side.”

Regardless of the outcome of the security council vote, the Israeli government says it intends to continue with its deadly assault until Hamas has been destroyed.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces announced that four more of their soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

Three were killed in southern Gaza, where some of the fiercest fighting has been taking place.

Another soldier died of his wounds after being seriously wounded last week. 

Despite Israel’s military superiority, its forces have been vulnerable to ambush by resistance fighters operating out of underground tunnels.

Some of the soldiers who died were reportedly members of the elite counter-terrorism Duvdevan Unit, which specialises in undercover operations.

Palestinian sources reported that air attacks in the early hours of this morning on the Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of Gaza, killed more than 100 people.

The Wafa news agency said: “Israeli planes launched fierce raids in the early morning on the northern areas of the city of Khan Younis,” in the southern region.

The news agency added that dozens of civilians were killed or wounded in the area.

At least 25 Palestinians, mainly women and children, were reportedly killed and many injured after a bombardment against a house in the vicinity of the al-Nour mosque, in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Journalist Haneen Ali al-Qastan was identified among the fatalities, along with members of her family.

Meanwhile, according to the Al Mayadeen outlet, the leader of Hamas in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, today ruled out resuming negotiations to free any more Israeli hostages held by his organisation until the end of the Israeli aggression in Gaza.

In a statement, Mr Hamdan repeated that Hamas would not negotiate with the Israelis before a comprehensive ceasefire had been put in place.