New York, 22 February 2024 (dpa/MIA) — UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has called on the foreign ministers of the G20 developed and emerging economies to work towards an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.

"You have the power to make a difference. Use it," appealed Griffiths in an opinion piece published on the website of Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera. "Your silence and lack of action will only lead to more women and children thrown into the open graves of Gaza."

Humanitarian organizations are doing everything they can to alleviate the immeasurable suffering of the Palestinian population, he said.

The G20 foreign ministers will continue their meetings in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The Gaza war was triggered by a massacre carried out by armed militants from the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. The attackers killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.

Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. According to the health authority in the Gaza Strip, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed so far.

The figures are regarded as largely credible by the UN and human rights organizations. Israel has been heavily criticized for the many civilian casualties and the massive destruction.

"We have been pleading with Israel, as the occupying power in Gaza, to facilitate aid delivery – to little or no avail," Griffiths said in his opinion piece.

"We have been calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages – to little or no avail. We have been urging the parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law – to little or no avail," Griffiths wrote.

He appealed to the G20 foreign ministers to "use your influence to end this war and save the people of Gaza." The opinion piece had previously been published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo.