Norway believes Israel may have not fully respected international law

By Alexander Cornwell

ABU DHABI (Reuters) -Norway believes Israel may have broken international law in its bombardment of Gaza that has levelled neighbourhoods and killed thousands of Palestinians, its foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told Reuters in an interview that while Oslo supports Israel's right to self-defence, humanitarian law must be adhered to.

This meant distinguishing between combatants and civilians and ensuring military attacks are proportionate to avoid excessive harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure, he said.

"We believe that there have been cases where this proportionality and this distinction have not been fully respected," he said, speaking in the United Arab Emirates.

Israel's embassy in Abu Dhabi had no immediate comment, but the country says its forces do not target civilians.

In Oslo, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said it was crucial to get relief to civilians in Gaza as soon as possible.

"It is paramount now to have a humanitarian pause to get the support, to get the humanitarian relief to two million people who now are in an extremely dire situation," he told reporters.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in the Israeli bombardments, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel started its offensive after Hamas attacks on southern Israel on Oct.7 which authorities there say killed 1,400 people.

Israeli officials have said it will not let up its assault on Gaza until it destroys Hamas, the Iran-backed Islamist militant group that rules the enclave.

Norway served as a facilitator in the 1992-1993 talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that led to the Oslo Accords in 1993. Since then, it has remained involved as chair of the donor group which coordinates international assistance to the Palestinian territories.

International calls for a temporary pause in the fighting to allow more humanitarian aid to reach the Palestinians in Gaza has been rejected by Israel.

"What we're seeing in Gaza is a terribly dramatic humanitarian situation," Barth Eide said.

He described conditions there as "terrible" with people largely cut off from water, electricity, and medical supplies after weeks of heavy bombardment by Israel.

He said that satellite images that showed entire areas bombed, homes of thousands of people destroyed and medical facilities attacked as being "clearly problematic" from an international humanitarian law perspective.

"This is not only important from a legal perspective, it's also important because there will come a time where we have to look for political solutions," Barth Eide said.

"We need to get back to the key issue of what to do about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

The two-state solution envisaged in the Oslo Accords was the only solution, he said.

Norway has also has condemned the attacks by Hamas.

Some 200 Norwegian citizens are estimated to be stuck in Gaza and unable to leave due to the blockade.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Jonathan Oatis)